


I feel that presence when I'm with you

by JNS



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Agent!Nicole Haught, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Slow Burn, lots of tension, there will be smut eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:48:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 45,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26237377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JNS/pseuds/JNS
Summary: Black Badge Division have sent Nicole to Purgatory. She's been tasked with figuring out whether the rumours of supernatural creatures in this little town have any truth to them and she quickly learns that her first impressions, of both the town and the Earp sisters, aren't what they seem.
Relationships: Waverly Earp & Wynonna Earp, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Wynonna Earp & Nicole Haught, Xavier Dolls/Wynonna Earp
Comments: 110
Kudos: 416





	1. Good Luck, Kid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while but I am finally back with a fic that I've been very slowly working on during lockdown. Hopefully this will help a little with the hiatus!
> 
> I hope you enjoy and once again, huge thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for always being up to beta!
> 
> I'm going to post a new chapter every Tuesday

Nicole considered herself pretty lucky, having been sent to some amazing places for work. Some truly incredible, beautiful cities, with so much to see that the intense danger her job usually brought with it seemed worth it. 

The second she drove past the tacky sign welcoming her to the location of her latest mission…she knew it wasn’t going to be a place like any of those.

The chances of a small town being a hot spot for supernatural goings-on weren’t great. In Nicole’s experience, it was far more likely that a joke - started decades ago -somehow managed to gain enough traction to become a local legend, which her bosses at Black Badge felt the need to at least check out. 

Or rather, send someone like her to check it out…only Nicole had never been sent anywhere that seemed so _ordinary_ before.

Honestly, she felt like this assignment was some sort of punishment. For what, she really wasn’t sure. Since she’d been headhunted by the Black Badge Division, she had done nothing short of every single thing they had asked of her.

Eradicate a cluster of wekufes causing havoc in central Chile: done. Exorcise an evil spirit from not one, but two separate people, while also protecting a high-level asset from being assassinated: done. She’d never lost a partner, never failed a single mission and yet now, she had been sent to the middle of rural fucking Canada to investigate some ridiculous rumours. Maybe Lucado really did just have it out for her, it certainly felt like it most of the time. 

Apparently, an entire town had managed to keep the supernatural creatures, using it a sanctuary, a secret for over a century.

There was just no way that Black Badge could miss something like that for that long, and Nicole really had to figure out who she had pissed off at H.Q. to wind up wasting her time in a town like _Purgatory,_ and what the hell their agenda was. 

Even if Nicole was sure that the most sinister thing she’d discover here was a lack of any sort of diversity, she still had to make nice with the local law enforcement. She had to keep up the appearance that she was taking this assignment just as seriously as any other, or Lucado would use it as an excuse to bump her right back down to recruit.

The local sheriff, Nedley, seemed nice enough, albeit a little disgruntled at having some federal agent come into his quiet station asking about local crime rates and emergency service call logs.

Unsurprisingly, Nicole didn’t find a single thing in the files covering the past two years that indicated any unusual occurrences in the quiet town. She set herself up in the back office to go over them as swiftly as she could – the quicker she could write up a report that stated nothing untoward was happening here, the quicker she could get onto her next, hopefully more interesting, assignment.

Nicole thanked the sheriff for allowing her to look over the files, maintaining the illusion that he had any choice in the matter, although the grunt she received in reply made it clear he knew he didn’t. He opted not to say any further, only indicated one of his deputies would take the files off her hands. The officer, Dolls, took everything from her and began placing them back in their respective drawers.

The deputy surprisingly made an effort to have a conversation as he worked, unlike anyone else she’d come across at the station.

“I keep telling Nedley we should digitise, would be a lot more secure! Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Just some routine monitoring.” One of Nicole’s well practiced half-truths. “Anything noteworthy I should see while I’m in town?”

A little local color could help pad out her otherwise unexciting report for Lucado. 

“There’s a bar, Shorty’s…and not much else honestly,” Officer Dolls smiled apologetically, “I might not be the best person to ask though, still just getting to know the town myself.”

“Right, well thanks anyway.” Of course, seemingly the only person in the building willing to have a conversation with her wasn’t even a local. “Maybe I’ll check it out.”

Surely, she’d find a local or two there she could gently press for some information about the town. If she also happened to enjoy a drink in the process, she wasn’t going to feel too guilty – Black Badge were the ones who sent her to a town with nothing else to do.

Nicole made her way down the main street, trying hard to wrap her head around what kind of reports had brought her to this little town.

There wasn’t much of _anything_ here.

A small diner with barely any customers that clearly hadn’t been decorated since the early 1950’s and not in the trendy way that so many places tried to emulate in the city.

A store that Nicole couldn’t quite figure out whether it was a laundromat or a liquor store…maybe it was both. The elderly woman who was sitting behind the counter inside didn’t exactly look like she’d welcome Nicole’s presence, so she carried on by.

An actual tumbleweed rolled across the street and Nicole rolled her eyes at how cliche it was. 

From a good few paces away, Nicole could tell Shorty’s was about the only place around that drew any sort of crowd. There were more vehicles parked out front than anywhere else in town, and the few patrons smoking by the entrance, not saying much of anything to each other, were friendly enough to move out of Nicole’s way as she tried to enter.

Even if she was already pretty certain the reports were nothing more than stories, it couldn’t hurt for Nicole to get a feel for the town and figure out why Black Badge’s attention was drawn here in the first place. So, as she entered the bar, she loosened her shoulders, pulled her hair from the ponytail it was in and tried to blend in as a simple tourist, just passing through.

Nicole couldn’t have taken more than three steps inside when her eyes landed on the painfully attractive woman tending the bar. She was laughing at something her current customer said and just being close enough to hear it was enough to coax a smile from Nicole’s lips.

The evidently hilarious customer, clad in a leather jacket and an impressive looking gun hung low around her hips, eyed Nicole as she made her way towards the bar.

“You’re new around here.” The woman dipped her beer bottle in Nicole’s direction; despite the lack of question she waited expectantly for some kind of response from Nicole. Even without the threat of a gun within her reach, something about the woman demanded Nicole’s reply.

“Just passing through,” Nicole smiled as pleasantly as she could while feeling mildly threatened, turning it up a notch before she switched view to the gorgeous bartender. “Could I get a bottle of Molson when you have a sec?”

“Of course,”

As she turned around to get into the fridge behind her, without even thinking, Nicole’s eyes followed. Her already tight jeans got even tighter as she bent over to grab the beer bottle, and somehow Nicole managed to look away in just enough time for the woman to place the beer in front of her.

 _Very_ professional, Nicole…

“So, what brings you to Purgatory?” The bartender smiled, ignoring the cash that Nicole had in her hand, ready to pay. “Did you want to drink where Wyatt Earp did?”

She made a big show of pointing to the sign above her head, her eyes disappearing into her smile.

“Of course,” Nicole indulged her; she was glad she did when the woman’s smile got even wider.

Nicole couldn’t help herself when she leaned closer and let her own smile show off the dimples that had secured her many a pretty girl’s phone number. A little harmless flirting would certainly make this trip less dull.

“That, and the excellent company I was assured would greet me here.”

A nearly imperceptible blush covered the woman’s cheeks and Nicole was sure she might even have been about to flirt back, but a customer at the other end of the bar called for her attention and she disappeared with a shy smile.

“You deserve at least an eight for effort.”

Nicole had almost forgotten there were other people within earshot.

“You lost two points because she’s my sister and you made me watch.”

“Sorry,” Nicole smirked, not feeling it in the least when the bartender caught her eye while she filled up a glass from the tap at the other end of the bar.

Nicole left her money on the bar and went off to find a seat with the best view of the whole place…that still left her in view of the bartender. She’d barely sat down when the sister sat down across from her, essentially blocking her view to half of the establishment.

“Wynonna,” the woman offered as she watched Nicole’s face intently, Nicole couldn’t help but feel like she was suddenly being scrutinised.

“Nicole,”

“Well, Nicole. If you are going to sit and gawk at my sister all night, the least you can do is entertain me while you’re at it.”

Nicole was wholly unaware of how it actually happened, but Wynonna managed to cajole her into an honest to god conversation about the lack of entertainment in a town like Purgatory. It became surprisingly enjoyable after the second beer, which arrived at her table exactly as she was finishing her first.

Waverly, her name finally revealed by Wynonna, was watching her…enough to realise the exact moment she’d need another drink. Nicole’s confidence soared even as Wynonna made a show of scoffing, she simply watched Waverly retreat to behind the counter and resolved to get her next drink from the bar.

Halfway through her fourth beer, she knew she should think about heading back to her motel. With the comfortable repartee that she and Wynonna had achieved though, and the brief moments of conversation with Waverly whenever she went to the bar, Nicole couldn’t bring herself to leave.

It was sad really; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d just let herself enjoy an evening of getting a little drunk and having pointless but generally enjoyable conversations with a virtual stranger.

It had been far too long…that only became clearer with each beer she drank. The more she drank, the bolder she grew, and the more certain she was that Waverly was flirting right back.

She didn’t come to her senses until Wynonna joined her at the bar and convinced her that a shot of whiskey should be her next drink. When she didn’t even hesitate to down it in one, the realisation hit her that she was nowhere near sober enough to be doing what she was supposed to.

The rumors might have been bullshit, but that didn’t mean Nicole could just forget that her entire job was to remain vigilant in order to protect people who had no idea of what was out there. She excused herself to the bathroom, but she kept on walking straight past it and out the back exit she’d spotted when she first arrived.

The crisp night air did little to sober her up or make her feel less like a complete amateur. Maybe her recklessness did merit being sent on an assignment like this…or maybe this was a test to see just how cautious she’d truly be in the face of no discernible threat.

But before Nicole’s mind could spiral any deeper, a body came flying backwards out of the door she had just shut behind her. Wynonna stood in the doorway, lowering her leg…like she’d just kicked the man, now writhing on the ground, through it with ease.

Maybe Nicole had been mistaken all along. Maybe there _was_ something evil in this town…and she’d just spent the night rubbing elbows with it.

Wynonna didn’t even notice Nicole standing there, her eyes trained squarely on the poor soul she’d just propelled through the door. His hands up in front of his face, begging, as Wynonna lifted a gun that glowed like nothing Nicole had ever seen before.

The trigger was pulled before Nicole could shout out a single objection. The man’s face contorted into something entirely non-human, his eyes turning a blistering red, a feral growl ripping from his throat before the ground beneath him suddenly opened, flames creeping up to drag him down as he screamed.

“Holy shit,” Nicole had seen many things since she started working for Black Badge, but she could confidently say that she had never _never_ seen anything like that.

The glowing markings on the barrel of the gun faded as Wynonna swiftly moved her aim, Nicole staring down the barrel of the gun for a beat before it dropped down to Wynonna’s side. 

“Goddamnit!” Wynonna groaned up to the sky, slapping the palm of her hand repeatedly against her forehead. “How many times, Wynonna? Check for randos in the alley!”

“What the _fuck_ was that?” Nicole had never felt more unprofessional in her life…and with good reason.

The unmistakable smell of burning sulphur, the flames, the monstrous growl…had that gun just sent whatever he was to _hell?_

“Nothing…you’re drunk.” Wynonna coolly waved her off like the last twenty seconds hadn’t even happened.

Completely ignoring the alarm on Nicole’s face, Wynonna moved to head back inside, only to come face to face with her sister. Waverly looked between the scorched ground, the gun in Wynonna’s hand, and Nicole.

“Seriously, Wynonna? How many times have I told you?”

“I know! Don’t yell at me, she’s fine.” Wynonna made some vague gesture towards Nicole. “She’s super drunk, she won’t even remember in the morning!”

Nicole wanted to argue, wanted to pull out her badge and demand answers, but the alcohol paired with what she’d just seen had her feeling like everything was a little hazy.

Wynonna pushed passed Waverly, looking over her shoulder as she made her way inside. “Come on, Nicole. Drinks on my baby sister!”

“They are not!” Waverly quickly shoved her sister, following behind Wynonna once she’d made sure Nicole was following.

 _“Fine,_ drinks are on me.”

The only thing that kept Nicole from asking the million questions she was desperate for answers to, was accepting each drink that Waverly tentatively set down in front of her.

Wynonna watched Nicole drink, nursing her own whiskey. She looked concerned and possibly a little guilty; she couldn’t possibly know that Nicole was more equipped than most to see something like that.

Still, Nicole wasn’t sure she was entirely prepared to know there was a gun that could literally send someone… _thing?_ to hell and somehow, Wynonna had got her hands on it.

She needed to inform Lucado, maybe even request that Jeremy joined her here…he was good at the really weird stuff. Confronting the owner of the magic gun could wait until she had some level of understanding of what the hell was going on in this town.

Tomorrow she’d go back to the station, find out exactly what the local police knew – and if they had purposefully hidden the truth from her.

Even in her progressively more drunken state, her thoughts went to the deputy she had spoken with earlier, he’d be her first point of call. The Sheriff seemed weirdly unconcerned with her arrival, but Dolls had seemed _interested…_ had he seen something unexplainable around town since his own arrival?

“You’re not going to puke, are you?” Wynonna asked after Nicole had been staring off into space for quite some time.

Waverly smacked her arm from across the bar, Nicole’s head turned just in time to see her mouthing at her sister to “stop it”.

“I think I should probably get going…”

“Wynonna will walk you-“

“No, I’ll be fine.” Nicole stood, she was more buzzed than when she’d just needed to get some air, but the motel wasn’t far and even drunk she could probably still remember about eighty percent of her training. “Thank you. It was…interesting to meet you both.”

As she turned to leave without either of them trying to stop her, the urge to tell them both she’d be seeing them again soon was difficult to ignore. She couldn’t afford them getting spooked and running off though, not before she had a chance to get to the bottom of this.

For now, it was preferable that they believed she was merely a traumatised bystander; in the wrong place at the wrong time, who _wanted_ to forget what they had seen. Nicole knew what Black Badge did to people who had seen too much, how could she trust these strangers wouldn’t do the same to her?

Despite the brutal hangover, Nicole was up bright, early and slightly queasy at the station. No more thinking this was some kind of joke or a punishment. Until she saw this through to the end, she would be taking her assignment as seriously as she should have since the moment she arrived.

That meant no more playing nice with local law enforcement, and it didn’t matter if they liked it; she outranked them. It was clear that some or all of the residents in this town were good at keeping secrets, but she did not believe for a moment that there wasn’t a single member of the police force who’d noticed something amiss in this town.

“Officer Dolls, can I have a minute?”

Nicole knew from experience she didn’t need to wait to see if he was following her. She led him to the back office, which would shortly be officially requisitioned by Black Badge under her authority.

The fact he was doing everything in his power to avoid eye contact was all Nicole had to see to know there was something he was keeping to himself. Having someone she could trust here was necessary, but she was only going to give him one chance to be honest with her.

She didn’t push him for information straight away, just sat there and waited. He knew something and the second Nicole caught his eye, it was clear he understood that she knew too.

“Anything you want to share?”

“I…I don’t know what you mean.” 

“You haven’t seen anything strange or startling since you moved to town?”

Dolls eyes suddenly brightened. “Have you?”

Nicole shrugged noncommittally; she wasn’t about to reveal anything before he did.

“Okay…I’ve seen some weird…stuff. I asked Nedley about it, but he just told me to leave well enough alone, that the…people involved have done a great deal for this town. He told me I should just forget whatever I thought I saw.”

Something told Nicole he wasn’t telling her everything he knew, maybe he didn’t realise quite how big a problem that was. “Do you understand you are withholding information from a federal agent?”

“Look…I don’t know what it is they do, but I know they aren’t bad people, okay?”

“The Earp sisters? Waverly and Wynonna?”

Dolls narrowed his eyes for a moment, his jaw tight. Did he know them personally? “Yes…all I know is that weird shit happens around them and they stop it before anyone else in town seems to notice!”

“You noticed…how?” Nicole prodded; it would be very useful to know the nature of his relationship with the Earp’s.

“I’m good at my job,” Dolls fired back, almost like he was insulted she’d thought he wouldn’t have. “But I’m not the one who can give you any answers.”

“Who should I be talking to then?”

Dolls sighed, it was clear he was debating whether or not Nicole was someone he could trust. Evidently, she was.

“Waverly Earp. Wynonna is no idiot but whatever it is they do, Waverly is the brains behind it all…and she’s less likely to run the second you show her your badge.”

“Get her in here. Now.”


	2. Half Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> Back with chapter 2 and I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Waverly and Wynonna officially meet Agent Nicole Haught, and things get a little...tense. 
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for beta duties!

Waverly thought the days of having to make unscheduled trips to the police station were over…especially on a day that Waverly knew for sure Wynonna was sound asleep in her own bed and _not_ in the drunk tank.

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t concerned that Dolls had called her in to see him, particularly after what happened the night before. Nedley was doing his best to keep the weird stuff off the permanent records, but Dolls was getting more suspicious by the day, and if Nicole had stopped by…

It was still early; the station hadn’t quite made the transition from the quiet of the nightshift to the slightly less quiet dayshift. Dolls was stood waiting for her at the front desk, albeit without the smile that he would typically greet her with.

Waverly hustled towards him, her concern mounting.

“Is everything alright?”

Dolls didn’t answer beyond a grimace and a gesture for her to look over her shoulder. Her confusion only grew when she saw Nicole standing in the doorway to one of the back rooms Waverly had never been in before.

Something about it felt…odd. If Nicole had come in to report what she’d seen last night, why did it suddenly feel like she was the one in charge?

Nicole stepped back from the door; was Waverly supposed to just follow after her? When she looked to Dolls for an explanation, a singular nod was all she got.

Waverly tried to make her way into the room with some level of confidence, but she really wasn’t used to being unaware of what was going on around her. Nicole closed the door behind her and gestured for her to take a seat at the table in front of them.

“I would like you to explain to me exactly what I saw last night,” The smiles and the friendliness from the night before was gone, it was like this Nicole was an entirely different person…

Nicole sat down across from her, waiting expectantly for an answer that Waverly wasn’t sure she felt inclined to give. The self-confidence that Waverly had quite quickly become drawn to the night before, just felt arrogant now.

Who the hell did she think she was? Demanding explanations to something she’d likely never be able to wrap her head around.

“And why exactly would I do that? Who the heck are you?”

“Agent Nicole Haught,” Nicole reached into her pocket and flicked open the badge she pulled out so Waverly could read it. “US Marshals – Black Badge Division.” 

“Black Badge is _real?_ Holy sh-” Waverly snapped her mouth shut. She wasn’t supposed to know about Black Badge, _no one_ was supposed to know about Black Badge.

Nicole put her badge away with a sigh, “I presume that answers your first question.”

Waverly nodded, worrying her lip between her teeth; torn between keeping the family secret and not wanting to be arrested by a federal agent. “I think it would be best if my sister were here…”

“Okay, call her.” Nicole leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms and waited. Waverly took that to mean she probably wasn’t allowed to step out to make said call.

First attempt went straight to voicemail, not surprising considering Wynonna had still been asleep when she left.

Second attempt, Wynonna answered and growled something unintelligible down the phone line before hanging up.

Before she’d even begun the third attempt, Waverly’s cheeks were bright red under Nicole’s scrutiny. Thankfully Wynonna answered with an irritated “What?”

“Can you come down to the police station…and can you bring my research?” Waverly didn’t miss the way Nicole’s ears perked up at that, even though she was obviously trying to make it seem like she wasn’t listening in.

“Wait, what? Why?”

“Just…please, Wynonna?” Waverly had to be careful, if she said too much Wynonna might just show up in a fury that would undoubtedly lead to both of them getting arrested.

“You’re lucky I love you, baby girl. I’ll see you soon.” Wynonna hung up before Waverly had the chance to tell her she loved her too.

Waverly set her phone down on the table in front of her and got comfortable; she had no idea how long Wynonna was going to be, but the way Nicole was staring at her made it clear Waverly wasn’t going anywhere until after she’d started talking.

“I’m going to get coffee,” Nicole stood and left the room, without even so much as a perfunctory offer to get one for Waverly, locking the door behind her.

Waverly scoffed, where the hell was the woman she’d met last night? Or had that all been an act to get closer to both her and Wynonna?

She’d thought they’d been keeping things under wraps here; she didn’t think she needed to worry about some shadowy, super-secret government agency that she wasn’t even sure really existed. She certainly didn’t think she needed to be mindful of government agents _flirting_ with her at Shorty’s.

Locking her in felt excessive, but the longer Waverly sat there without Nicole coming back, the more claustrophobic the room began to feel and the more appealing trying to escape became.

How much trouble would she get herself into if she forced the door open?

The lock on the door opening saved her from being apprehended mid-escape. Nicole entered and held the door open for a bewildered Wynonna, Waverly’s box of research in her arms. She threw the box onto the table with an exaggerated huff. Waverly rolled her eyes. It really wasn’t that heavy.

“Does someone want to explain to me what the fuck is going on?”

Waverly pushed out a seat and made sure Wynonna sat before Nicole explained herself; if she was already seated, there was far less chance of her making a run for it. Wynonna and badges had never mixed particularly well.

She still grabbed onto Wynonna’s arm, even if it was partly for her own peace of mind, when Nicole pulled out her identification and explained who she was.

“She wants to know what’s going on here…” Waverly looked pointedly at her sister, they obviously weren’t getting out of this one without telling the truth. It was obvious that Nicole was not about to take Nedley’s, _the less I know, the better_ approach. “What’s _really_ going on.”

“Well, shit…” Wynonna sighed, she swept a hand towards Nicole. “Enlighten her, Waves. I don’t know why you needed me or all this crap to do that!”

“I didn’t think I should just go blabbing the family secrets without you here!”

“Why? So, I can relive every single time I’ve ever heard it before?”

“That’s not-“

“Ladies! Please!” Nicole slammed her palms down on the table between them, her jaw tight. “We all know how much I had to drink last night; I would really prefer we got this over with.”

Waverly could sense the retort brewing beside her and decided to just get this over with before Wynonna pissed Nicole off for real. “Okay…so what do you actually know about Wyatt Earp?”

Waverly made her way through most of the research in the box in front of her as she brought Nicole up to speed on the Revenants and the curse. There were still plenty of unanswered questions, namely how exactly the curse began, but she knew Nicole would be more interested in what they were doing here and now, to end it.

“If Peacemaker sends them all back to hell then the curse will end. Wynonna has managed to take nearly three-quarters of them out in the last eight months, I’m confident she’s going to succeed where every Earp before us has failed,” Waverly stated proudly, it wasn’t often that she got to boast about how amazing her sister was, and she wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

“What you saw last night, that’s what it looks like when they get sucked back down to the fiery abyss.” Wynonna brought her thumb up in front of Nicole’s face, only to point it downwards as she blew out a raspberry.

Nicole merely replied with a raised eyebrow. Whatever good impression Waverly had just made on her sister’s behalf had surely been flushed down the toilet.

As Waverly rolled her eyes, she caught sight of the clock on the wall and immediately started packing up all her research. Gus would be pissed if she was late for work again, she was getting sick of her using the curse as an excuse…despite the fact that as excuses go, it was a pretty damn good one.

“I’m really sorry but I need to get to work.” Waverly put the lid back on the box but before she could lift it, Nicole’s hand landed on top of it.

“Where do you think you’re going with that?”

“What?” Waverly couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s _my_ research.”

Nicole pulled the box towards her, “And it’s brilliant, truly, but it’s now Black Badge property.”

“Bullshit!” Wynonna exclaimed, as she leapt to her feet.

Waverly felt like she’d just been slapped across the face. “B-but it’s _mine,_ I’ve spent years working on this and we need it if we’re going to end the curse!”

“Well, that’s fine because from here on out, these _Revenants_ are Black Badge’s problem.” Nicole bristled as Wynonna barked out an incredulous laugh. “We can’t just have civilians out there shooting demons in the street, opening up entryways to hell for anyone to see!”

“Did you miss the part where I’m the one with the gun that opens up said entryways?”

“No,” Nicole held an expectant hand out in front of her, Waverly about twenty percent certain that Wynonna wasn’t about to try and break it. “I’m going to need you to hand that over.”

Wynonna snorted, her hand coming down to rest on Peacemaker. “That is _not_ happening.”

Waverly knew she had to defuse some of the tension before it blew up in all of their faces. “Agent Haught, even if you had the gun, you can’t-“

“Miss Earp, I have full authority to seize any and all resources that will allow me to do my job so please do not tell me what I _can’t_ do.”

Waverly’s mouth snapped shut, if she felt like she’d been slapped in the face before…

“You know what?” Wynonna pulled Peacemaker from her holster and set it down on the table. “Take it, find me when you realise Black Badge aren’t equipped to handle this! Come on, baby girl.”

Waverly resisted as Wynonna urged her to leave with a hand on her arm. “Wynonna, you can’t just give her Peacemaker!”

“Sure, I can. If Agent Haught here thinks she can just roll into town and break this curse without our help, I say we let her.” Wynonna sent a sickly-sweet smile towards Nicole. She wasn’t even paying attention, too busy admiring Peacemaker as she held it in her hands.

At least they knew she wasn’t a Revenant.

“But-”

“Come on,” Wynonna repeated more forcefully, not letting Waverly resist this time as she led her out of the room.

She kept her eyes on the box containing what basically amounted to her life’s work until Wynonna slammed the door to the office closed, blocking it from view. Waverly let out a pathetic sigh at the thought of never seeing it again.

Wynonna flipped the bird at the closed door while Dolls frowned at them from across the bullpen, but Wynonna either didn’t notice or didn’t care as she stormed towards the exit.

The panic really started to set in as Waverly rushed out onto the street after her sister. They no longer had Peacemaker, and the person who now did couldn’t even fire it.

If a Revenant decided to jump them right here, right now, in the middle of the street, there was absolutely nothing they could do to stop them…and all that hard work would have been for naught.

Shit…what if Nicole went looking for a Revenant thinking she’d be able to send them back to hell, she could get seriously hurt…or worse.

Waverly picked up her pace to catch up to Wynonna.

“We can’t just let her think she’ll be able to take down a Revenant!”

Wynonna, stopped mid-step and spun to face her, “Well, maybe she shouldn’t have interrupted you?”

“We can’t just let her get herself killed because she interrupted me!”

Wynonna sighed, taking Waverly’s face in her hands with a shake of her head. “Don’t worry, baby girl. I’ll keep tabs on her, make sure she doesn’t die before she realises that being cocky won’t get her anywhere if she can’t fire the gun to back it up.”

“Wynonna! You will make sure she doesn’t die, period!”

“Fine!”

“Good, I’m going to work. You go make sure she doesn’t get herself killed!” Waverly took her leave, if she stayed arguing about this any longer, she really was going to be late.

Truthfully, Waverly wasn’t sure _why_ she felt so adamant that Nicole deserved Wynonna’s protection, not the one she just dealt with anyway. The Nicole she met last night had been lovely.

_Agent_ Nicole Haught, though, Waverly wasn’t sure she was such a fan.

_That_ Nicole had just taken her precious research hostage and acted like Waverly and Wynonna hadn’t been dealing with the crazy shit in Purgatory since they were literal children.

Waverly spent the first hour of her shift with her eyes glued to her phone every second she wasn’t serving a customer. Surely if Nicole was dead already, Wynonna would have called.

A text notification lit up her phone, Wynonna letting her know that she’d followed Nicole to the trailer park. She really must have dug right into Waverly’s research if she was already snooping around there. Waverly quickly typed out a reply, begging Wynonna to be careful and ready to jump in if Nicole got too close.

While the research she had spent so long working on was extensive, most of what Wynonna and Waverly knew about the Revenants had come from experience, dealing with them face to face. Research alone would not equip Nicole for coming into direct contact with Revenants.

Without any further communication from her sister, Waverly couldn’t help but remain anxious, until Wynonna walked through the door and took up a stool in front of where Waverly had been fretting.

“Agent stick-up-her-butt is back at the station; Dolls is going to text me if she goes anywhere.” Wynonna accepted the drink Waverly reflexively set down in front of her.

“Probably with her stupid hands all over _my_ research,” Waverly couldn’t help but mutter to herself. Wynonna lifted a hand for a high five and Waverly slapped it with a roll of her eyes.

“You know everything we need is in that beautiful brain of yours though, right? It has been since we were teenagers!”

“But it’s _mine_ and she just took it! She didn’t even say thank you!” Waverly huffed. She was being petty, and she knew it but if any situation in her life had ever demanded it, it was this one.

“Aw, does baby girl miss the tipsy, flirty Nicole from last night?”

“What? No! She just…” Waverly spluttered, knowing for sure that her cheeks were reddening.

Maybe she had appreciated Nicole flirting with her more than she had let on…the attention had been nice, much nicer than any of the advances she experienced from the usual drunken customers…or one of Champ’s attempts at getting Waverly to go out with him again.

One shitty date was more than enough, she really didn’t know why he kept trying.

Waverly came back to herself as Wynonna let out a laugh, “Shit, Waves. I was only kidding, but am I right?”

“No! Well…okay, fine. I guess she’s cute.” Waverly tried to go for a casual shrug, she wasn’t sure she managed to actually pull it off.

“Now _that_ is an understatement! Too bad she’s five-o.”

Waverly barked out a laugh, “Says you!”

“Hey, me and Dolls’ situation is different, okay? I didn’t know he was a cop when we hooked up for the first time.”

“Well, _I_ didn’t know she was a federal agent when she walked in here, did I?”

Wynonna held up a finger to argue, only to lower it as she realised she didn’t have a leg to stand on. “Touché.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	3. Honest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this from my phone cause I decided to disappear to Edinburgh for a few days, I hope the layout looks alright! 
> 
> This week, Nicole realises that maybe she acted a little rashly, and my favourite brotp in existence tackle some Revenants together. 
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for beta duties

While it wasn’t unusual for Wynonna to hang around Shorty’s during Waverly’s shift, it was rare for her to be so unsettled. Waverly watched as she checked her phone over and over _and over._

They had tried, as much as possible, to keep Dolls out of this. Not that he wasn’t capable of helping, Wynonna had simply developed a soft spot for him and admittedly, Waverly had too…but he wasn’t an Earp. He didn’t need to be involved in all of this; he didn’t need the added danger of being on the Revenant’s radar on top of being a cop.

The best way to keep him safe was to keep him uninformed, and if Waverly was reading Wynonna’s nervous energy right, she was worried that Agent Haught was about to ruin that. Why else would she have called him into the back office, as Dolls’ message relayed?

If Nicole had just let Waverly finish…or better yet, if Wynonna hadn’t sent a goddamn Revenant to hell right in front of a complete stranger, they wouldn’t be in this mess at all. 

“I would just like to remind you, none of this would be happening if you had just checked your surroundings before shooting Carl,” Waverly said, in a low tone.

Wynonna immediately responded with an unimpressed glare, “Yes, thank you. You mentioned that plenty last night.”

“I’m just saying…when you don’t listen to me, this is what happens!”

“Alright! Can we drop it now?” Wynonna let out a groan that said she was about two seconds away from reaching over the bar, smacking Waverly wherever she could reach.

Waverly instinctively held up her hands, letting it go. It wouldn’t get them anywhere, fighting about it now.

“Girls, please tell me you’re not arguing again?” Curtis’ question came before his arm wrapped around Waverly’s shoulders. He leaned down and kissed the top of Waverly’s head as he squeezed her shoulder. 

Wynonna scoffed, “Never!”

Her eyes were begging Waverly to keep her mouth shut, but Curtis had guided them through the whole curse situation since daddy died, and he should know what was going on.

“I’m just giving Wynonna a hard time because she didn’t listen to me… _again,_ and now a Black Badge agent has Peacemaker.” Waverly sent a sarcastic smile to her sister before looking up to her uncle. “And yes, Black Badge is real.”

Curtis’ eyes went wide, without a doubt, struggling to comprehend everything Waverly had just told him.

“Look, it’s not what it sounds like.” Wynonna began her attempt at placating him, but the tension in his shoulders was starting to get painful around Waverly’s.

“Well, that’s good ‘cause it sounds like you lost the one and only tool you have in this fight!” he hissed, quickly looking around to make sure no one was paying attention to them.

Curtis was always careful; he’d instilled that in Waverly too, but somehow it had simply passed Wynonna by.

“I’m going to get it back! I have a plan, okay?”

Curtis took a deep calming breath, “Please, enlighten us.”

 _“Agent_ Haught thinks she can handle this shitshow without us, but we all know that’s not true. She just needs a little help to figure that out for herself.” Wynonna stated this like it was obvious…except for the fact there was zero actual plan in what she’d just said.

Waverly couldn’t help but roll her eyes, she couldn’t believe Wynonna truly had an actual plan. “Okay…and? _How_ are you planning on doing that?”

The shrug from Wynonna did nothing to instill confidence in Waverly, and what came out of Wynonna’s mouth next did even less. “I’m going to make sure she gets up close and personal with a rev.”

“Wynonna! What did I say? We can’t just let her-” Waverly did another sweep of their immediate area, earning a wink from Curtis as she did so. When she was confident no one was listening to them she carried on, quieter than before. “We can’t just let her get killed.”

“Calm down, I’ll make sure I’m there! She’ll be fine…probably.”

*** 

Nicole had eventually dismissed Dolls from what was now officially her temporary office. She’d shared what she deemed appropriate…he had good instincts to realise something was off about this town, and the Earps, and Nicole still needed someone she could rely on within the local police force.

Her initial reconnaissance of the trailer park had been a little disappointing, considering how much of Waverly’s research was devoted to it. After her conversation with Dolls though, she learned how different things were there only a few months prior.

The official word was that a significant number of the previous residents had moved on to cause havoc and break laws in some other town.

Dolls didn’t buy it for a second, Nicole could tell. With Waverly’s research right in front of her, she didn’t buy it either. It was clear who was responsible for the trailer park’s high vacancy rate.

A gentle knock on the door to her office lifted her eyes from Waverly’s handwritten notes. The silhouette on the other side of the glass was unmistakably Wynonna Earp, although Nicole was surprised that she was announcing her presence this time. Unlike the trailer park…

Nicole couldn’t deny that she was curious as to what the eldest Earp wanted, so despite making it clear that Purgatory’s supernatural goings-on were no longer a civilian matter, she called out for Wynonna to enter.

“What can I do for you, Wynonna?” Nicole gestured for her to sit down; she wasn’t feeling particularly welcoming to someone who’d been following her, but it didn’t look like Wynonna was there to cause trouble.

“I thought you might like to know there’s a couple Revenants hiding out nearby. We only confirmed their whereabouts a few days ago, so they aren’t going to be in any of that.” Wynonna swept her hand over the papers Nicole had spread out in front of her. “I just thought it might be helpful for you to get get a grip on what you’re up against, before the revs figure out there’s a new threat in town.” 

Nicole couldn’t decide if it was such a good idea, but Wynonna did genuinely look like she was offering her a hand…and she had managed to take out a lot of these so-called Revenants before Nicole arrived.

It couldn’t hurt to get a few pointers before making sure Wynonna stayed away from her investigation; for her own, and everyone else in this town’s safety.

Against her better judgement, Nicole let Wynonna tag along with a promise that she’d stay in the car. She already had a sneaking suspicion that wasn’t going to happen without a fight.

The second Wynonna got into the passenger seat beside her, she looked at Nicole with a smile that Nicole had neither the wherewithal nor the energy to try to understand.

Wynonna’s boots managed to touch the dashboard for all of a second before Nicole shoved them back onto the floor and started driving.

“So…I bet your girlfriend just loves that you put yourself in danger all the time, huh?”

Nicole bristled; this was not a social outing. “No girlfriend.”

She could see Wynonna smirk out of the corner of her eye as she pulled out of the parking lot. Had she completely disregarded the fact that Nicole had very obviously and unprofessionally been flirting with her sister the night before?

“Had a wife…for a bit.” The words came out before Nicole could stop them. “Surprisingly, it wasn’t me doing a dangerous job that ruined it.”

“No? What did?”

Nicole wasn’t sure why she was even entertaining this conversation…it was so rare that anyone even noticed her existence outside of BBD, let alone actually asked about her personal life.

Her job was to remain under the radar, which did get sort of lonely, and the immediate ease with which she had been able to converse with Wynonna the previous night hadn’t just vanished.

“She couldn’t know what I actually did for a living, I thought maybe it would make it easier on her, not knowing the danger I was putting myself in, but she knew I was keeping _something_ from her.” Nicole’s hands tightened involuntarily on the steering wheel, just thinking about all the accusations that she couldn’t deny without telling Shae the truth.

“Sometimes we have to keep people in the dark to protect them, even if they don’t appreciate it.”

Nicole could only nod. Wynonna understood exactly…although she hadn’t kept her sister in the dark in order to protect her.

“Turn right, up here,” Wynonna instructed, and Nicole followed the directions pulling up on the side where Wynonna suggested.

There was a shamefully rundown auto shop at the end of the dirt road, it couldn’t have been open for business within the last decade. It was a pretty good place to lay low if she ever saw one. “In there?”

Wynonna nodded; her eyes focussed on the disused building. “Two of them, don’t cause as much trouble as the rest but enough to deserve what’s coming to them.”

Readying her standard issue weapon, Nicole prepared to get out of the car only for Wynonna to grab her. “Did you forget that that gun won’t do a damn thing? Peacemaker is the only thing that can take them out.”

With a sigh, Nicole reached into her glove compartment where she’d stowed Peacemaker, and pulled out the antique revolver. She didn’t feel comfortable relying on a gun that looked so far past its prime. Someone really should have taught Wynonna about gun maintenance.

Before she opened the door, her eyes met Wynonna’s and she was sure she didn’t need to ask the question to know the answer. “You’re not going to stay in the car, are you?” 

“Not unless you handcuff me to it.” Wynonna grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.

Maybe it was better to pick her battles…this once, anyway.

The current inhabitants of the building weren’t exactly keeping the noise down, clearly not expecting any unsolicited visitors. Smashing bottles, howling laughter; enough to cover up the sound of them approaching.

Nicole made absolutely sure that Wynonna was following her lead. She did not want to be responsible for a civilian death when she was the one who allowed her to tag along in the first place.

Thankfully, Wynonna didn’t look like she was going to argue with Nicole's silent instruction to _stay behind her,_ as they entered.

Peacemaker felt alien in her hand, but she got it ready to fire. She still needed to see it in action with a clear head, and she was more than ready to uncover the mystery behind a weapon like this.

With a nod to Wynonna, Nicole flung open the door, Peacemaker raised in front of her, and waited for the glow to appear like it had for Wynonna.

Nothing.

Nicole allowed herself a moment to frown before fixing her gaze back on the two men now staring right at her. She pulled the trigger anyway, hopeful that maybe she’d just misremembered what she saw in the alley.

Nothing.

No bullet, not a single spark and definitely, no gateway to hell. 

“What the hell is this Earp?” Nicole growled, panic rising as the sinister smiles before her began to draw closer, their faces distorting into the monstrous features she’d been unable to banish from her mind. 

In one swift movement, Wynonna slid in front of her, knocked Nicole back with a swift punch to the chest, and snatched the gun out of her hand.

Wynonna quickly fired off two shots from the now glowing gun, both hitting their target right between the eyes, and just like before, the ground beneath her unwitting victims opened up to drag them down.

Wynonna, a smug smile on her face, twirled the gun around her index finger, smoothly slipping it right back into the holster at her hip before Nicole could even get her breath back.

“What the hell?”

“Oh yeah, _I’m_ the only one who can fire Peacemaker.” Somehow the smile turned even more smug.

“No kidding,” Nicole rubbed at the surely rapidly forming bruise, trying desperately to calm the urge to repay Wynonna with a thump of her own. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me that before?”

“Waverly _tried,”_ Wynonna spat, “but you were too busy being all _‘I’m a federal agent, I know everything’_ to let her finish!”

It was rare for Nicole to truly feel embarrassed, but she could feel the redness spreading across her face. Hopefully Wynonna wouldn’t notice just how mortified she was.

Maybe she had been overcompensating a little…for her complete and utter lack of professionalism the night before.

“Shit…I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I don’t care,” Wynonna brushed past her, raising her voice as she headed back towards the car. “But I go for a drink after every Revenant I take down, so you can drop me off at Shorty’s and apologise to the Earp who’ll appreciate it.”

The second Nicole pushed through the door to Shorty’s, Waverly’s eager eyes were on her. Had Wynonna texted ahead and told her what was coming?

It wasn’t exactly Black Badge protocol to apologise for asserting your authority…but exactly nothing about this assignment seemed to be staying within the bounds of protocol.

As she followed Wynonna to the bar, she didn’t miss the way Waverly’s eyes dropped to Wynonna’s side, and the gun back resting there. She didn’t look in the least bit surprised.

“Don’t you have something to say?” Wynonna just jumped right in, before Nicole had even made it all the way to the bar.

She grabbed the drink that Waverly had already placed in front of her and stalked off towards the pool tables, and a couple of guys Nicole was pretty confident were about to get hustled.

“Uh, Waverly?” Nicole struggled to clear her throat under Waverly’s expectant stare. “I’d like to apologise for earlier…not listening when you tried to tell me about Peacemaker.”

“Oh!” Waverly’s eyebrows nearly hit her hairline, clearly Wynonna had not texted ahead. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not. You and your sister have obviously done a lot of good here before I arrived…” Nicole struggled not to admit that she had thrown her weight around. “I should have respected that, so I’m sorry.”

“We’re used to people being oblivious as to what we do to help them.” Waverly replied sharply and Nicole couldn’t exactly blame her. “Wynonna might not always do precisely what she _should_ , but she protects everyone in this town, even if they have no clue that she is.”

Nicole nodded, a proposal formulating in her mind that she wasn’t sure she could actually bring to fruition, but it was worth trying. “Can you come to the station tomorrow? Take me through your research more thoroughly?”

“Yes, of course! Absolutely!”

“Great,” Nicole’s lips stretched into a grin on instinct.

It would be so easy to slip back into the easy flirtatious banter of the night before…but she caught it before it could happen, tamping down her smile along with her excitement.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, and sorry…again for not listening. I guess it’s just a little hard to get my head around a civilian knowing this world exists.”

“It’s the only world I’ve ever known,” Waverly replied quietly, and Nicole had absolutely no idea how to respond to the sadness that had suddenly appeared in Waverly’s eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early!”

It was like whiplash; the way Waverly banished the sorrow with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. It seemed so perfectly practiced, and it broke Nicole’s heart. She very nearly reached out, stretched her hand across the bar to expel the lingering sadness Waverly was so clearly trying to hide. But instead, she curled her hands into fists in her lap. 

She couldn’t…she had to keep this professional.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	4. In My Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week, Nicole and Waverly spend some quality time together, Waverly finds it difficult to accept the compliments that keep coming and Jeremy arrives in Purgatory. 
> 
> Endless thanks, as always, to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for being the best beta!

Waverly managed to hold off until around eight A.M before driving to the station far quicker than necessary. She could only contain her excitement for so long.

She was going to be able to talk about her research, actually talk about it _in detail,_ with someone who wouldn’t immediately think she was losing her mind.

What would Nicole do now that she knew Wynonna was the only one who could actually take down a revenant? Waverly was sure it had not been in Nicole’s plan to ask someone like Waverly or Wynonna for help.

Before she could make it to the back office to speak with Nicole, Dolls caught her eye. He quickly avoided eye contact. Was he feeling guilty about lying to Waverly?

She couldn’t blame him…Nicole likely didn’t give him much of a choice.

“Hey,” Waverly smiled, hoping to expel any guilt he might be feeling, but he barely lifted his gaze to acknowledge her. Then it hit her, it wasn’t guilt at all. “Agent Haught told you?”

Dolls let out a humourless laugh, “I highly doubt it was everything, but she told me enough to know you’ve both been lying to me all this time.”

A door behind Waverly opened and Nicole stepped out, eyes searching before landing on Waverly in the middle of the bullpen. Despite her desperate need to excuse _why_ they had tried to keep him out of things, it wasn’t hers to explain and she didn’t want to keep Nicole waiting.

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you everything but if you speak to Wynonna, maybe you’ll understand. Please?” Waverly begged; she couldn’t bear it if this put a wedge between him and her sister…not when she felt Wynonna might finally be starting to get her head out of her ass about her feelings.

Dolls sighed, looking over Waverly’s shoulder, spotting Nicole. It clearly didn’t pass him by that Waverly was here to speak with her again, and his features hardened. “I’ll think about it.”

There wasn’t much she could do to change his mind, Waverly knew, so she left him to get on with his day and hopefully mull it over. Nicole opened the door for her, locking it behind her once they were both inside, although this time Waverly didn’t feel nearly as trapped.

“Wow…” Waverly couldn’t believe what she was seeing; her research had been meticulously displayed across multiple wheeled whiteboards. “When did you do this?”

“Last night. I can’t really sleep while I’m on an assignment and this-” Nicole gestured to the expanse of Waverly’s research before them- “is one hell of an assignment.”

Waverly nodded as she moved towards the display, searching for the list of all the known revenants that Wynonna had taken out, along with the odd surprise that had found their way into Purgatory.

She found it, pulled a pen from her bag and scored through the names of the two that Wynonna had told her she’d finally managed to get rid of.

“Wynonna told me she took out another two with you yesterday, that brings our total revenants left down to twenty-four.”

Waverly couldn’t help but smile. Twenty-four was still plenty to go before they could finally relax, but every revenant gone had to be taken as a victory. If it wasn’t, Waverly wasn’t sure how Wynonna could keep going until all seventy-seven were gone.

“Waverly, I really feel like I should apologise again. What the two of you have managed to do…with barely any resources or support, it’s impressive!”

“You mean what Wynonna has done…”

“Not just her,” Nicole shook her head, only honesty in her eyes. “Both of you. She couldn’t have done all this without you…and I don’t think the assistance I can offer her will be worth a damn without your involvement too.”

Heat rushed to Waverly’s cheeks, but she resisted the urge to tell Nicole she really hadn’t done anything special.

“It’s not exactly protocol, but this is by far the most extensive concentration of supernatural activity I’ve ever seen. So, I feel like I have no choice but to bend protocol.”

Waverly frowned, “What do you mean?”

“A Black Badge analyst should be arriving in town today, I’m hoping you’d be willing to work alongside him, _us,_ to see this through.” Nicole actually looked nervous, like Waverly wasn’t already on the edge, primed to jump at the opportunity.

“Holy shit…”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes!” Waverly yelled, slapping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment at her unrestrained delight. She cleared her throat. “Yes…definitely a yes.”

Nicole’s obvious nerves settled into relief. “Great, let me call Jeremy and see how far out he is.”

Left alone with her research, Waverly began examining the way Nicole had set it all out. Seeing it like this was something else; she knew she had spent countless hours on it, but without having somewhere big enough to see it all at once, she hadn’t fully appreciated just how much work she had done.

Sure, Curtis had helped where he could, Wynonna too, but Waverly was the first Earp who’d organised it all, and hopefully made it a little easier to end this damned curse once and for all.

“You’re pretty incredible, you know?”

“Jesus!” Waverly’s hand flew to cover her thundering heart, the shock of Nicole silently appearing behind her enough for all the breath in her lungs to leave at once.

Nicole apologised, immediately taking a step back. Waverly cursed her inability to control her surprise…Nicole smelled nice.

“You are though,” Nicole smiled once Waverly had her heart under control enough to turn around. “Absolutely incredible.”

Waverly shrugged; she couldn’t handle these rapid-fire compliments. “I just did a little digging…”

“A little- _Waverly,_ with barely any resources other than your own determination you compiled a more thorough investigation than I’ve ever seen at Black Badge.”

“I like research,” Waverly chewed her bottom lip, thankful that Nicole’s attention had gone back to one of the boards and the newspaper clippings that charted a lot of the Earp history in Purgatory.

She got lost just watching Nicole for a moment, the possibility of spending time around _this_ Nicole seemed incredibly appealing. The way her brow furrowed slightly as she read, the way her tongue poked out to wet her lip…

Waverly sighed at the thought of seeing the dimple she’d noticed that first night again, and Nicole’s eyes dipped to meet hers. Her cheeks immediately flamed at being caught staring.

It wasn’t obvious that Nicole had let herself relax until she straightened up and moved across the room, away from Waverly.

Nicole cleared her throat, her eyes darting away from Waverly’s.

“Jeremy’ll be here soon; take a seat and I’ll grab us all coffee. I’m sure it’s going to be a long day.” Nicole grabbed a coat draped over the back of a chair and hurried from the room, leaving Waverly trapped once again.

Jeremy was an honest to goodness sweetheart, so excited to ask Waverly a million questions and let her take him through everything at the lightning speed her passion demanded.

How long they’d been deep in discussion was hard to guess, they got so lost that Waverly only realised it had been quite some time when she saw Nicole relaxed completely behind her desk. A soft smile on her face that didn’t disappear even when Waverly caught her.

“How great is she?!” Jeremy beamed, gesturing wildly towards Waverly who flustered at even more attention. 

“Pretty damn great,” Nicole agreed without missing a beat, almost like she didn’t even realise she’d said it until an even more flustered Waverly caught her eye. She cleared her throat, breaking eye contact. “So what are your thoughts Jeremy?”

“I think this place is supernatural central, and I have absolutely no idea how Black Badge missed it!”

“Well, not entirely…but Waverly and her sister have done a really good job keeping this under the radar, minus a few slip-ups.” Nicole shrugged; _slip-ups_ was putting it mildly…

“Slip-ups from Wynonna,” Waverly clarified to Jeremy before she could help herself, much to the apparent amusement of Nicole.

“Right, but other than those, it’s impressive how quiet you’ve managed to keep this.” Nicole once again seemed so genuine in her praise, maybe Waverly’s first impression had been a lot more accurate than she’d thought. “Which is why I think it’s important we work together, but I don’t see Lucado or Moody being okay with it unless you sign a contract.”

Jeremy snorted out a laugh, though his face remained entirely serious. “They absolutely will not be okay with it.”

“Do you think Wynonna would be willing to do that?”

“I don’t know…” Waverly wanted to say yes, that since Nicole didn’t seem to actually be a complete asshole it would be in all of their best interests to just work together, whatever it took, but she really wasn’t sure. “We’ve just been dealing with this as a family for so long. And a contract…I’m not sure even I’m comfortable with that.”

It looked like Nicole was prepared to push it, press her for a definite answer one way or the other, but she didn’t. She simply nodded as the muscles in her jaw strained.

As the rush of being able to talk about all things Earp began to fade, Waverly’s stomach protested at being ignored for most of the day. She needed to speak with Wynonna about all of this anyway, so she gathered her things and said goodbye to her research once again.

She couldn’t promise Nicole and Jeremy that she’d return with a willing Wynonna, but she promised she was going to try. 

Waverly did her best to stick to simple facts once she’d satisfied her hunger and convinced Wynonna to sit down with her to talk about their options. They were so close to finishing this thing, to being free, to all the Earps after them never having to worry about this dreadful curse.

Could they do this without Black Badge? Probably…although, it would be a lot easier if they worked together. Waverly wasn’t exactly eager to sign any sort of contract without knowing what said contract would entail, but if it meant working with a secret government agency…she couldn’t deny that got her pretty excited.

They’d gotten this far without any fancy resources, Wynonna pointed out, and it was true. They’d left the worst of them until last though, hoping Wynonna would only get better at it as time went on.

There were no guarantees that they could pull it off with or without Black Badge…Wynonna seemed to accept that their chances could only improve with additional help.

_“If_ we do this, we don’t sign any contracts. I don’t want a whisper of our names getting back to Black Badge…we have no idea if we can really trust them.” Wynonna took a hold of Waverly’s hand and squeezed, that fierce protectiveness in her eyes that always made Waverly feel safe.

“Do you trust Nicole not to have told them about us already?” Waverly worried her bottom lip; it could already be far too late.

“I have a feeling she wouldn’t be _asking_ for our cooperation if Black Badge already knew about us.” 

Waverly was tempted to leave it at that, to not get involved in her sister’s life any more than she already was. She knew herself though and she just couldn’t help it. “Have you spoken to Dolls today?”

“No, why?”

Dammit.

Waverly really thought he’d have called her by now…or even dropped by after he’d finished his shift. “No reason…”

“Waverly,” Wynonna warned.

“Agent Haught _may_ have spoken to him about all of this…I don’t know how much she told him but it was enough that he seemed pissed when I saw him at the station.”

Wynonna threw her head back and groaned. That was about the reaction Waverly expected.

“Maybe we should have just told him everything once we knew we could trust him?”

Wynonna’s chin dropped to her chest before mumbling out her reply, “I just wanted to protect him.”

“Maybe you should tell him _why_ you wanted to do that? You know he feels the same…”

“I don’t have time for that, Waves! I’ve got a curse to break and anything else-” Wynonna waved her hands around erratically- “is just a distraction.”

Waverly grabbed onto Wynonna’s flailing hands and pulled in her for a hug, _“We’ve_ got a curse to break. We’re in this together, like we’ve always been. Will you at least think about telling him?”

“Okay,” Wynonna sighed, tightening her hold on Waverly.

Sadly, Waverly knew the chances of her sister actually telling Dolls how she felt were slim to none…she wouldn’t stop trying to encourage her sister to be honest with him or herself though.

Working a shift at the bar felt a hell of a lot less interesting after Waverly had spent the previous day helping Jeremy and Nicole understand the Earp curse.

Both Jeremy and Nicole had asked her questions regarding the curse that she’d never even considered before, and it felt so good to be able to actually use her brain for more than just calculating someone’s change.

Shorty’s wasn’t the worst job she could have found herself in Purgatory, not by a long shot. That didn’t mean a shift actually gave Waverly any real sense of accomplishment.

Any time she was helping Wynonna with breaking the curse, researching the Revenants or figuring out the best way to bind a witch’s powers was _so much_ more fulfilling than serving beer after beer.

Now that Wynonna was fully on board and currently at the station with Agent Haught, something that was _her_ doing, polishing glasses during the mid-afternoon lull seemed even less thrilling. If that was even possible.

The only thing getting her through was the knowledge that, as soon as Gus arrived to take over for the late shift, Waverly could head over to the station too.

She counted down the minutes, then the seconds, and tried desperately not to look like she wanted to escape when Gus started complaining about Stephanie Jones being rude to her at the grocery store _again._

“You got somewhere more important to be?” Of course, Gus noticed almost immediately…

“Sorry,” Waverly winced, normally she’d be more than happy to listen to her Aunt gripe. “Me and Wynonna are doing some work with a federal agent…”

“Right. Curse stuff,” Gus sighed; she had always wanted Waverly to stay out of all the “curse stuff” but she’d long since accepted that there was no way that was going to happen. “Be careful.”

Waverly pulled her into a hug and promised she wasn’t going to do anything dangerous, before darting out the door.

She’d been so enthusiastic she never once considered the dangers of leaving Wynonna with a federal agent who would be giving her orders. Jeremy let her into the room, seemingly without either of the other occupants even noticing she’d arrived. 

It was clear Nicole was struggling to convince Wynonna of the merits of having an actual tactical plan before moving forward with another Revenant takedown. She looked like she was about ready to tear her own hair out, or Wynonna’s…or both. Waverly wasn’t sure.

Poor Jeremy looked absolutely terrified of the situation unfolding in front of him.

“Wynonna, will you just listen to her?” Waverly rolled her eyes; it wasn’t like she’d been trying to get Wynonna to appropriately plan out her Revenant slaying duties since they started this damn thing.

Wynonna, finally noticing her presence, turned to glare. Waverly could tell she definitely wanted to say something that would embarrass Waverly, but fortunately, she managed to keep it in.

“Fine,” Wynonna huffed out, and Waverly breathed a sigh of relief.

Nicole silently thanked Waverly with a smile before starting her plan from the top. If they were going to continue to keep this under wraps from everyone, Black Badge included, then they needed to be even more careful than ever before.

As Nicole went through everything precisely, Waverly couldn’t help but stare. It was enthralling and Waverly was helpless, especially since Nicole was completely distracted and would have no idea how captivated Waverly was.

Jeremy noticed though, the surprised smile on his face had Waverly panicking until he dragged his fingers across his lips and threw away the imaginary key with a wink.

“What are you doing?” Nicole’s eyes narrowed on Jeremy, then Waverly…Waverly tried not to look like a deer in the headlights.

Jeremy quickly cleared his throat, tearing Nicole’s attention away from Waverly, only for her to narrow her eyes even further at her colleague. “Nothing,”

Waverly winced. Jeremy was a terrible liar.

That did not bode well for Waverly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you would like to let me know how you're finding this fic, that would be so so welcome! I always appreciate feedback :) 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	5. Presence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone reading, commenting and leaving kudos on this fic. Your feedback is always appreciated! 
> 
> This week, Nicole accepts that Waverly may in fact be a little distracting before she and Wynonna spend their day taking down Revenants.
> 
> As always, many many thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for beta duties!

Nicole settled into her uncomfortable bed in her shitty motel, which after the past few days she was almost certain was going to be her home for quite some time. She could hear Jeremy shuffling around in the room next to hers, no doubt awkwardly dancing to whatever was playing through his headphones.

She hadn’t worked with him often, but he was good at what he did. Having him here was potentially the only thing making it bearable…well that, and maybe being able to see Waverly on a regular basis.

Although that was a big confusing ball of unprofessionalism that Nicole had no idea how to deal with.

Every single thing that Nicole had had drilled into her over the past few years at Black Badge was being put to the test: keep civilians in the dark, deal with the threat as quickly and quietly as possible…don’t get attached.

None of that seemed possible here.

Nicole fell asleep each night thinking about what might have happened if she’d been a little bolder that first night. Waverly had started out as a diversion from thinking about a seemingly bullshit assignment, now she was just a distraction. Period.

She was beautiful and so goddamn smart; Nicole just couldn’t stop thinking about what it might feel like to run her hands around Waverly’s waist and kiss her-

“Fuck!” Nicole grabbed a fistful of the cheap sheet that covered her rapidly overheating body.

How was she supposed to get the slightest bit of sleep when the frustration she was feeling only seemed to be increasing?

How was she supposed to get her job done if she was going to be this _distracted_ the whole time?

  
As promised, Jeremy knocked on her door early the next morning with coffee and donuts. If she was going to continue to get such little sleep while she was here, she could at least start her day with something enjoyable.

“There may be a severe lack of vegan food in this town but thank god for Waverly Earp,”

Nicole turned a perplexed frown towards Jeremy as he settled at the small table in the corner of the motel room. “What?”

“Waverly, she apparently managed to convince the coffee shop down the street to start making vegan donuts a few months back.” Jeremy shrugged as he tucked into what did look like an absolutely delicious blueberry donut.

“That is…honestly, not that surprising,” Nicole conceded. Waverly seemed like she’d be able to convince almost anyone of anything.

“How are you holding up having to spend time with her?”

“What? Fine.” Nicole avoided Jeremy’s eye as she reached for a donut of her own. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Nicole…she’s _gorgeous!_ ” Jeremy gesticulated into the air with his half eaten donut, as if Nicole needed any emphasising how factual that statement was.

“Okay…she’s attractive, and I may have flirted with her a little on my first night here before I knew who she was, but it’s fine.” Nicole really wished she hadn’t just let _that_ slip. “It doesn’t matter anyway; the assignment comes first.”

“Good, I just wanted to make sure…” Jeremy held his hands up as best he could with his coffee and donut still held in them.

Nicole liked Jeremy; she really did, but they hadn’t worked together enough to be having this conversation. “I want you to go out to the Earp Homestead today. Grab some soil samples, we need to figure out how exactly their land can be the only place these Revenants can’t go.”

“Sure thing.” Jeremy always seemed inexplicably eager to follow whatever order Nicole gave him, but this time his brow pinched together after a moment. “I’m not sure the equipment here is going to be much help, though.”

“I know,” Nicole sighed. She’d never had to work out of a station so small; the only forensic equipment Purgatory had was severely outdated. “I’ll speak with Lucado, get some gear shipped from your lab, but for now just do what you can.”

“Do you really think it’s possible to keep the Earps off her radar?”

“Please…she’s never going to set foot in a town this small,” Nicole scoffed, hoping desperately that Jeremy didn’t see her inner panic at the thought of _anyone_ from Black Badge finding out about this.

She couldn’t allow herself to entertain the thought that Lucado would ever stoop to being somewhere this far from a five-star hotel for more than a second; if she did, she would also have to accept that her career was well and truly over.

  
To Nicole’s surprise, Wynonna was already waiting when she got to the station. Apparently, Waverly had forced her up and out of the house early to make sure they had time to go over the plan one more time.

That idea didn’t seem to thrill Wynonna all that much, but Nicole wasn’t sure Wynonna was capable of saying “no” to her little sister all that often. She listened somewhat attentively though, as Nicole recounted the details of their plan _again,_ even if Nicole could tell she was more than ready to go running into danger without any sort of strategy.

Nicole donned her bullet proof vest and strapped an extra gun onto her waist and her ankle; they might not be able to do what Peacemaker could, but they did make her feel a little better about going up against literal creatures from hell.

She dropped a vest on the desk in front of Wynonna too, she didn’t seem to notice though as she brought her phone up to her ear and tapped her foot waiting for whoever she was calling to answer.

“Hey, baby girl. Me and Agent Haught-sauce are heading out.” Wynonna threw a wink towards Nicole. “Yeah, love you too and if Nicole gets me killed you need to promise me you’ll avenge my death!”

Nicole couldn’t hear Waverly’s response but if the eye roll that Wynonna produced was anything to go by, she was pretty sure she was safe. Nevertheless, she pushed the vest towards Wynonna and didn’t break eye contact until she put the thing on.

“It’s nice that you two are so close.” Nicole had never had much of a real family life, even as a kid; she would have loved to have someone care about her that much.

“She’s the most important thing in the world to me,” Wynonna answered without missing a beat as she tightened the Velcro straps of her vest. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her.” 

It was clearly a moment of complete and utter honesty, and she appreciated that Wynonna didn’t hide how true her admission had been or act like she regretted sharing it.

Nicole swallowed hard; she was sure that Black Badge getting their claws into Waverly would qualify as _“something”._ She certainly didn’t have any plans to break the promise she’d made, but if they did find out it wouldn’t be Wynonna that would need forgiveness.

With a shake of her head, Nicole got her mind back onto the task at hand, “You ready to go?”

It was imperative to meticulously plan for any operation, always assuming your life was on the line, and Nicole couldn’t be more thankful for Waverly’s flawless research, or for Wynonna actually sticking to their plan. Nicole had worried significantly that Wynonna wouldn’t be able to follow her orders once they were actually in the fray.

Nicole did not want to die in Purgatory, of all places, and this Revenant, Jack, had found himself the perfect place to get the drop on anyone who might show up looking for him and his crew of Revenants. An old prohibition era hideout, complete with secret entrances and endless tunnels, originally used to smuggle alcohol across the border.

The official position of Purgatory was that all entrances to said hideout had been sealed completely a long time ago, but unsurprisingly, Waverly knew better than that. She’d made her own blueprints of the layout, using a mixture of historical documents and more recent land surveys.

Once again, Nicole was floored by how much Waverly was able to do on her own and without any official training. It was the only reason Nicole managed to come up with a decent enough plan that ensured she and Wynonna got out in one piece, and with three fewer Revenants to worry about.

Wynonna even admitted that maybe she _should_ have been listening to Waverly all along about not going in half-cocked, considering how well things went. Nicole managed to control the urge to tell her she should be listening to what her sister said all the time.

“I’ll also say, it’s a hell of a lot easier doing this with you instead of Waverly,” Wynonna added, as they finished their walk back to Nicole’s SUV. “I can actually concentrate when I’m not constantly worried that a demon is going to kill _another_ member of my family.”

“Are you-did that actually happen?”

“Really not something to joke about, Haught,” Wynonna shrugged a little sadly, before she climbed into the passenger seat.

Nicole scrambled to get into the car as quickly as she could; she couldn’t let Wynonna think for longer than a second that Nicole had thought she’d been joking. “Of course, it’s not…I just…I didn’t know.”

“Well, it happened. Our dad and our older sister. _She’s_ the one who should be doing all this hero shit, not me.” Wynonna dug her thumbnail into the dashboard, any other time and Nicole would have admonished her. “I was never supposed to be the heir.”

“It might not mean much of anything coming from me…but you’re pretty good at the hero shit.”

“I’ll believe that once this curse is actually broken,” Wynonna mumbled softly. “We should go let Waverly know she doesn’t have to murder you, since you managed not to get me killed.” 

Assuming they’d be heading to Shorty’s, Nicole started driving back towards town, but Wynonna steered her in the opposite direction. Nicole frowned, but before she could ask where Wynonna was leading her, she explained that Waverly was at the Homestead.

Nicole was thrown by the instant excitement she felt…not only was she going to see Waverly again, but her home too. She knew it shouldn’t be something she wanted _so_ badly.

She should have suggested that Wynonna just call Waverly instead, then the two of them could get back to the station to start planning the next Revenant takedown…instead, she kept her mouth shut and followed Wynonna’s directions.

Jeremy was likely long gone from the property by the time Nicole passed under the Earp archway, but the evidence of all the samples he’d taken was littered around the homestead. Little blue flags were everywhere. He’d been thorough, she knew he would be. Hopefully he had also remembered to tell Waverly to leave the indicators exactly where they were until he had concluded his analysis.

“Are you coming in?” Wynonna asked, before stepping out of the car and heading straight to the front porch without waiting for an answer.

Nicole sped up the steps to follow her inside, slowing her pace as soon as she realised the urgency was coming from one thought and one thought only.

“Waves, you still here?” Wynonna yelled, much louder than was probably necessary for a house this size.

She led Nicole through to the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge and placing it on the table beside her despite Nicole shaking her head at the offer. She would not be imbibing on this job…not again. 

“Just a sec!” Waverly called back from somewhere within the house, her voice slowly getting closer as Nicole’s delight at seeing her again grew. “Jeremy and I ended up talking about-oh!”

Nicole spun around at Waverly’s exclamation and immediately let out one of her own. Waverly was wrapped in nothing but a _very_ small towel, seemingly so shocked that Nicole was standing in her kitchen that she was frozen still.

“Shit.” Nicole turned back around as quickly as her dazed mind allowed. Somehow over the blood rushing in her ears she heard Waverly scurry away. Nicole called after her, “I’m sorry!”

It was obvious Wynonna was desperately struggling to hold in a laugh, earning her a death glare. It was not even remotely funny.

“Oh _man,_ that was amazing!” Wynonna’s cackle finally escaped as Nicole slumped down into a seat around the table, dropping her burning face into her hands.

Nicole groaned as she tried to work out how likely it was that Waverly had seen her eyes dip to where the towel ended. All the while, Wynonna kept laughing.

“Will you please stop?”

“Oh, come on.” Wynonna eventually stopped being so amused. “It’s not like she’s some ogre! You should count yourself lucky you got to see that much of my sister!”

“Stop it!” Somehow her cheeks burned hotter.

The image of Waverly’s barely covered body playing over and over in her mind, her ridiculously toned thighs and the thousands of ways Nicole wanted to feel them underneath her hands. She counted herself _very_ lucky.

The smirk that Wynonna was throwing her moved over to Waverly as she waltzed back into the room, fully clothed and point-blank refusing to look anywhere near Nicole. _Great._

“Thank you so much, Wynonna,” Waverly hissed at her sister. “You could have told me we had _company!”_

Nicole watched on as Wynonna shrugged, that shit eating grin fixed firmly in place. “You knew I was out with Haught sending Revs back to hell.”

Waverly let out an exasperated sigh, her eyes finally darting to Nicole’s, who couldn’t help but gulp. She had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to get that image out of her head.

“Well, how did it go?” Waverly asked, but Nicole didn’t think she could actually speak just yet. Thankfully Wynonna jumped in to answer before it became obvious.

“Three more down, twenty-one to go!” Wynonna stated proudly, and whatever lingering embarrassment Waverly seemed to be dealing with disappeared completely as she gripped onto her sister’s arm in excitement.

“Holy cow, we are way ahead of schedule! If we keep this up, we might actually beat Edwin’s record.”

“Edwin?” Nicole frowned; the name sounded vaguely familiar…something in Waverly’s research maybe?

“Our Grandfather!” Waverly sat down across from Nicole, the excitement in her eyes practically making them glow. “The one-year wonder, he took out nearly every Revenant and he was only the heir for eleven months.”

Nicole couldn’t help but smile as Waverly listed off her Grandfather’s accomplishments completely from memory. She truly was brilliant, and Nicole so badly wished that it wouldn’t be completely out of place to compliment her once again.

“Alright nerd,” Wynonna said, obviously in jest but still, Waverly’s face dropped. “I’m going for a nap, see yourself out Haught Sauce.”

Waverly frowned down at the table, picking at a loose piece of paint on the wood with her thumb as Wynonna left them alone. “Sorry, sometimes I forget that other people don’t really care about this stuff.”

“Don’t apologise.” Nicole ignored her own warnings to keep this professional. She reached across the table and stopped Waverly’s thumb with a hand placed gently over Waverly’s. “I think it’s fascinating. Honestly, I could listen to it all day…”

Waverly’s cheeks blushed. “Really?”

“Really,” More specifically, Nicole could listen to Waverly all day. “I mean, it is kind of my job to learn about these things, but this stuff has always interested me. Even before I knew it was real.”

The delicate pink faded from Waverly’s cheeks, she brushed her thumb against Nicole’s, almost too slowly for it to be accidental…Nicole cleared her throat as she pulled her hand back into her lap. She had to, despite everything in her begging her to just caress Waverly’s own. 

Waverly didn’t even seem to realise what she’d done; she probably had no clue what it would elicit in Nicole. “So, what’s the craziest thing you’ve seen working for Black Badge?”

“Probably the whole hell opening up and sucking demon-esque creatures down thing,” Nicole answered honestly, “Although, before that it was definitely a witch I had a run in with a couple years ago. You grow up watching Sabrina and then one day you’re nearly killed by one!”

Waverly was smiling far too wide for Nicole’s story of almost death.

“I’ve never spoken about this stuff with anyone except Wynonna and my uncle.” Waverly shook her head, her smile never faltering. “It’s nice…”

“I don’t think I could ever get bored talking to you…” Nicole admitted before she could stop herself.

It was true though; she didn’t get very many chances to talk casually about all the things she’d seen. Almost everyone within Black Badge took it all very seriously, and rightly so, but sometimes Nicole just wanted to compare notes with someone else aware of this world without it needing to be a formal affair.

“I should be getting back to the station though, check in with Jeremy…”

“Right...” Waverly slumped in her seat, appearing genuinely disheartened at the prospect of Nicole having to leave.

Nicole’s stomach twisted at the mere prospect of disappointing Waverly. “If you wanted to come by the station tomorrow, we could compare bizarre stories?” 

That dazzling smile returned to Waverly’s lips and Nicole mirrored it instinctively. “Really?”

“Yeah…why not?” Nicole could think of a million reasons why not…but the thought of spending just a little more time with Waverly was far too appealing to listen to a single one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	6. Side Effects

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again! Hope everyone is having a good week so far, or as good as can be in this weird world we are living in! 
> 
> This week, Nicole and Waverly bond over supernatural stories...after Nicole lies through her teeth to her superiors. 
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for being the best beta!

Nicole was incredibly proud that she was helping rid the world of dangerous supernatural creatures and all manner of evil individuals. All the secrecy and clandestine aspects of her life was worth it if she was able to save someone else from an awful fate, at the mercy of supernatural evil. 

This case was no different…she wanted to learn everything she could about what she was up against. Except in this particular case two of the would-be victims were still very much alive…and _working_ with her.

After Wynonna’s admission the day before, Nicole couldn’t stop thinking about it. Realistically, she could just ask her the questions she wanted answered…but she also realised she hadn’t done all that much digging into the Earp’s past, apart from what was in Waverly’s research.

Maybe it was foolish, but she trusted that Waverly had told her what she needed to know to do her job. Now, she just couldn’t help herself from needing to know _more_. But she couldn’t very well use Black Badge resources without almost definitely exposing the Earp’s existence, and the part their family had played for generations in the Ghost River Triangle.

Instead, Nicole found every police report in the Purgatory Sheriff’s department files under the name Earp for the last twenty-five years, and from that she learned what the Earp sisters had gone through at such a young age.

Sheriff's deputy, Ward Earp had been taking his three young daughters home after a shift when they’d been ambushed a few miles out from the Earp Homestead. According to the report, it was thought to be a group of local criminals that Ward had seemingly angered by way of his profession.

Knowing what Nicole did now, there was no doubt in her mind that the perpetrators were Revenants, intent on killing the then Earp heir. Ward was killed in the ensuing struggle and the attackers had then attempted to take the children too, to do god only knew what to them.

Somehow, Wynonna managed to get herself and Waverly out of the car and ran, as fast as she could with her youngest sister in her arms, to the nearest house to get help. It was too late though, by the time Police arrived on the scene, Willa was gone.

They could only speculate on what had happened to her, but after months of searches turned up nothing – it became clear whatever evidence there might have been of her fate, it was long gone.

Nicole knew enough from Waverly’s research to know the Revenants were worthy of her hatred. She also understood even more now Waverly’s obsession with finding out every single thing about them that she could, to help end the curse once and for all.

The cell phone on her desk vibrated, the screen showing a blocked number calling. She’d been waiting for this call; she knew her email updates would only keep Lucado satisfied for so long.

“Ma’am,” Nicole answered, trying her absolute hardest to keep any hint of unease out of her voice.

“Haught. How are things going up there?” Lucado never wasted any time, “Actually, hold on. I’m going to bring Moody on.”

Nicole gripped the phone tighter; the only thing worse than having to lie to one of her superiors was having to lie to two of them. At the same time.

“Richard, I’ve got Agent Haught on with us. She was just about to give me an update on the situation in Purgatory.”

Moody let out a quiet hum confirming his interest, “Excellent, carry on.” 

Nicole shared as much as she could without divulging anything about the Earps or revealing that she was keeping secrets from them. There was a substantial supernatural presence in the town and Nicole was carefully and quietly taking out the threats, while keeping the general population of the town none the wiser.

“And Agent Chetri?” Lucado questioned once Nicole had said all she could.

It wasn’t exactly surprising; Jeremy was only very recently cleared to work in the field. He was still under a close eye and Nicole knew, as the senior agent, she would undoubtedly be asked to file a detailed report on how he performed.

For now, she would keep it brief, but she could at least be honest, “He’s doing a great job, helping me with handling this situation far more than I expected.”

“Are you certain you don’t need another pair of hands? If it really is such a substantial presence?” Moody asked, and the dread Nicole was already feeling swelled.

Nicole snapped her mouth shut before she could answer; an abrupt refusal would unquestionably arouse suspicion. She made a noise that she hoped sounded like she was seriously considering the offer.

“I can handle this, Sir. As soon as I feel like that is no longer the case, I will request more assistance,” Nicole answered with far more confidence than she actually felt.

Moody accepted her answer before announcing he had another call coming through and he’d have to go. Lucado didn’t sound entirely convinced of Nicole’s assertion as she concluded the call but thankfully, she didn’t say anything more.

With a sigh Nicole had a realisation; she wasn’t just putting her own job at risk here. She couldn’t let Jeremy join her in this without making sure he knew there was a real possibility they’d lose everything if Black Badge found out what they were doing.

She called out for Jeremy to join her in her office, “I just want to make sure we are on the same page here. Keeping the Earps a secret from HQ could easily ruin both of us…”

Jeremy tilted his head like a puppy. “But they said they’d only work with us if we kept them a secret…and we need their help.”

“I know, I’m just saying…if we keep that promise and _get caught,_ we could lose more than just our jobs.”

“We made a promise.” Jeremy frowned at her.

Nicole couldn’t help but smile; she had always liked Jeremy, and this was one of the many reasons why. “You’re a good man, Jeremy.”

“Oh um…thank you.” Jeremy shuffled awkwardly on the other side of Nicole’s desk, clearly no clue how to deal with the compliment Nicole had paid him. There seemed to be a lot of that going around…

“You can get back to your reading now,” Nicole said gently, giving Jeremy an out.

Jeremy spun on his heels with a quiet “thank you”, returning to his desk and whatever it was he’d been reading. The moment his palms were back on the paper, Nicole could see him totally relax. It was no wonder that he and Waverly got on so well.

Speaking of…

Waverly breezed into the office with three cups from the coffee shop down the street and that astonishing, crinkled-eye smile directed at Jeremy, who joyfully smiled right back just as wide.

Nicole watched from her office as the two of them discussed what Jeremy had been perusing before she entered. She hoped it had something to do with figuring out why the Revenants weren’t capable of stepping foot on the Earp’s land; if they could just figure out that mystery then maybe they could use it to their advantage.

Something Waverly had said the day before had been swimming around in Nicole’s mind since, brought to the forefront now that Waverly was standing in her line of sight. How much did her Uncle actually know about all this? Was he someone else she was going to have to worry about Black Badge finding out about?

Having looked into the Earp’s closest relations since coming to town, Curtis McCready seemed like your average small-town resident, on paper anyway. In truth, from looking at the Sheriff department’s files from the last few years, so did Waverly and Wynonna.

After her harrowing morning though, Nicole now knew even more reasons why that was not the case. It wasn’t like everyone in Purgatory had a murdered father and sister.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she should tell Waverly that she knew about it. Should she even bother telling Jeremy, only to tell him he shouldn’t mention it?

Neither Earp thought it was essential to share how exactly they came to be the only two Earps left. There was no doubt it was a difficult subject to talk about…maybe Nicole just needed to respect that. It was perhaps for the best that she just kept the fact she knew to herself, unless it became especially pertinent to mention.

It amazed Nicole that Waverly had turned into the person she was, even after everything she’d gone through. Wynonna had turned out just fine too, for the most part, but her edges were certainly a little harder.

Waverly was remarkably sweet; even when Nicole had tried to apologise for being such a pompous asshole, Waverly seemed like she’d already let it go. She’d heard things around the station too, after Waverly would make an appearance, and it was clear she wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Not that any of that talk made Nicole feel jealous or anything…it shouldn’t.

It _couldn’t._ That wasn’t what Nicole was here for and she would not allow herself to even consider the possibility that-

“Anybody in there?”

Waverly’s chuckle quickly brought Nicole out of her daze. Her eyes came back into focus to see Waverly standing at her office door, now only two coffee cups in hand and concern slowly growing on her face, the longer Nicole stayed silent.

Nicole cleared her throat, “Yes. Sorry, just…thinking. About the case.”

“If today doesn’t work for you anymore, we can do this another time?”

“No!” Nicole jumped to her feet before Waverly could retreat, motioning for her to take a seat across from her. “Please, come in.”

“You seem like a cappuccino person.” Waverly smiled as she set the coffee on the table between them.

Nicole had to restrain her own smile as she reached for the cup. “You are exactly right.”

She took a sip as she relaxed into her chair and tried not to laugh at how pleased with herself Waverly looked.

*** 

Waverly would be lying if she said she hadn’t been a little worried about being able to face Nicole again, especially after Wynonna’s relentless teasing the night before.

Sure, they’d had a perfectly pleasant conversation after the half-naked incident, but Wynonna had just gone on _and on_ about how hilarious Waverly’s shocked face was.

The excitement of getting to swap supernatural experiences thankfully trumped whatever embarrassment she still felt. It wasn’t like she was embarrassed about her body; she knew that she had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of…even if Wynonna’s description of her face was accurate.

For a whole number of reasons, Waverly really hoped it wasn’t.

It was so unbelievably refreshing to be able to talk to someone else about all of this, without fear that they’d think she had lost her marbles. It was different from talking to Wynonna and Curtis, whose only focus was the Revenants’ fates.

Of course, Waverly wanted to end the curse, but she was also fascinated by the fact that there was _more_ out there too. The only time she really ever got to learn anything about any other supernatural occurrences was in the small moments before Wynonna got rid of them for good.

What she wouldn’t have given to simply sit down with Constance Clootie and just ask her all the questions about witchcraft that she’d had since she was a teenager. Who knew if Constance would have actually answered any of them, but Waverly wished she’d at least had the chance to _try._

Especially since Clootie killed the only other witch they knew about before Waverly had had a chance to sit down and talk with her.

Honestly, she didn’t expect Nicole to share a great deal – what with most of her experiences probably being classified as Black Badge secrets – but she did listen intently as Waverly continued to rattle on and on.

It didn’t seem like phoney interest either, just like when Waverly had spoken about the curse, Nicole appeared genuinely engrossed. Only this wasn’t something that would actually get her out of Purgatory any faster.

Did she actually appreciate Waverly’s inane ramblings? Did she enjoy having someone to speak to about all this stuff too?

“How much does your uncle actually know?”

“What?” Waverly instantly panicked.

Nicole frowned, “You said you could only talk about this stuff with Wynonna and your uncle…”

“Oh…right,” Waverly had said that…why did she say that? Why didn’t she keep him out of all this completely?

“Hey…” Nicole reached across the table for Waverly’s hand, like she had done the day before, and just like then, Waverly marvelled at the tenderness of her touch. “I promised that Black Badge wouldn’t find out about you…that includes him, okay?”

Waverly nodded warily. There were so many reasons not to trust Nicole…but still, she found herself doing so anyway.

“He knows everything. He only found out about it all after our Dad…died.” Waverly clarified, “Once he did, he knew someone would have to make sure Wynonna was capable of dealing with the curse, so he did the best he could. I managed to fill in the gaps once I started my own research.”

Nicole smiled sadly, a smile that Waverly had seen too many times to count, and she knew exactly what Nicole was going to say before she even said it.

“I uh…this morning, I read the police report. I know it doesn’t tell the full story from that night but still, it must have been awful.”

“I’m a little surprised it took you this long to read it…I thought you would have done plenty of background of Wynonna and me,” Waverly said honestly.

“Well,” A blush had quickly started to spread across Nicole’s features, like she was hesitant to admit she’d done her job. “I did do some background on you both, I just didn’t think to go that far back. I just thought I should tell you…that I knew what happened, and that I’m sorry it did.”

With an appreciative smile, Waverly squeezed Nicole’s hand that was still holding firmly onto her own. She had to pull back before she got any more comfortable holding onto Nicole.

“Thank you, I don’t remember that night all that well, to be honest. It’s like a memory of a dream I’m not entirely sure I actually had. Wynonna told me what happened when I got older...reluctantly”

“It makes sense that she’s so protective of you,” Nicole said, almost fondly, and Waverly couldn’t help but wonder if Wynonna and Nicole actually talked about her when they were alone.

The thought brought a smile to her lips, she truly did appreciate how much Wynonna looked out for her. No matter how often they got on each other’s nerves or had their stupid little fights.

“She’s the best.”

“Funny, she said the same thing about you,” Nicole laughed softly, her eyes drinking in Waverly’s…almost the same way they had that first night that Nicole had come to town.

The longer they lingered, the harder Waverly was finding it not to think about how the more time they spent together, the more Nicole seemed to be inching closer to the woman she’d met that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I just want to say thank you to all of you reading this, I do hope you're still enjoying it! 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	7. SOS (Overboard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> This week, Waverly gets up the courage to make a bold move, but it may not go exactly to plan. 
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for beta duties!

For a week solid, Waverly spent nearly every waking minute she could at the police station. Whenever she wasn’t working a shift at Shorty’s or sleeping a few hours each night, she was there with Jeremy—and Nicole, when she and Wynonna weren’t off Revenant hunting.

Once Jeremy’s equipment arrived, he took Waverly through his analysis of the soil he’d taken from the Homestead, step by step. She had almost zero clue what she was looking at, it all just looked like dirt, but she knew Jeremy had found something to be excited about when he did a little dance.

“Ammolite! This soil is saturated with tiny little pieces of it, I bet your house was built on a bedrock of the stuff.” Jeremy’s smile was wide, just like Waverly’s whenever she figured something out that no one else had managed to do before. “That has to be what keeps the Revenants off the land…fascinating!”

“Could that help us? Could we use it against them somehow?” Waverly wondered; anything to help end this curse faster and more safely than Wynonna having to charge headfirst into danger all the time.

“I don’t know…maybe?” Jeremy didn’t look entirely convinced but there were definitely numerous cogs turning over in his head. “Leave it with me, maybe I can figure some way it could.”

Waverly smiled at his earnestness. Even when she didn’t know that Black Badge were real, she’d created an image in her mind of what they might be like: a faceless, unfeeling organisation who simply cleaned up the evidence after a supernatural incident. All this time spent with Jeremy and Nicole was showing her how wrong that assumption had been.

It truly felt like they both _cared._

When Jeremy conceded the next day that he didn’t think he’d be able to come up with anything using this discovery to aid in ending the curse, he was so apologetic that Waverly’s disappointment vanished as quickly as it came. 

“It’s okay…thank you for trying.” Waverly rubbed Jeremy’s slumped shoulders.

Nicole hovered in the doorway to her office, watching the interaction with a gentle smile that Waverly found almost impossible to tear her eyes away from. It seemed she wasn’t the only one, Nicole’s gaze had been lingering more often the more time they spent together. 

It was the same, enthralling look that Nicole had given her that night in Shorty’s. That, combined with the more serious _Agent_ Nicole that appeared at least a couple times a day when Waverly was at the station, had Waverly confused, though.

Sometimes it felt like Nicole was interested in knowing Waverly the way she had intimated that first time, and others it felt like she couldn’t get away from her fast enough. If she _was_ interested, why didn’t she just make it clearer?

Unless…she thought Waverly wasn’t interested?

Maybe Waverly needed to make the next move, since Nicole had technically made the first move by flirting with her in the first place.

Wynonna wasn’t around, probably spending time with Dolls on his day off, and it had been a few days since Jeremy did the coffee run. If Waverly cleverly feigned a few yawns she was sure it would be enough of a hint for him to offer to head out and leave her and Nicole alone.

Of course, Jeremy being the truly considerate person he was, immediately offered to run down the street to get their caffeine fix after just one fake yawn. Waverly felt the tiniest bit guilty, so she pulled out a couple bills from her back pocket and made sure Jeremy took them before he left them.

It took nearly eight whole minutes once Jeremy had left the room for Waverly to work up the courage. She had to just bite the bullet before Jeremy reappeared.

“Uh…Agent…Nicole?”

“I think by now just Nicole is fine, Waverly.” Nicole laughed softly, briefly glancing up from whatever she was typing on her laptop to lock eyes with Waverly. It was too quick for her to realise that Waverly was absolutely petrified.

“Right…Nicole?” Waverly tried again.

Nicole stopped typing this time as she looked back up. Had she finally heard the nerves in Waverly’s voice?

“Would you like to have dinner tonight?”

“Sure, I can ask Jeremy to grab something while he’s out?”

“No,” Waverly’s face burned. Why was this so hard? “I meant, just me. Like a…date?”

“Oh.” Nicole’s eyes blew wide; clearly, she was surprised.

For a split-second Waverly was glad she’d taken the plunge to ask since Nicole obviously hadn’t been planning on asking her…until Nicole cleared her throat,

“No.”

“Oh.” That was not what she’d expected. Had Waverly been imagining their chemistry this whole time? 

“As much as- it would be completely unprofessional.” Nicole looked pained, probably from straining so hard to come up with a way of letting Waverly down easy. Had she really gotten so carried away that she’d imagined Nicole would ever say yes?

“Right. Of course. Stupid of me to even ask.” Waverly knew an embarrassed ramble was just beginning, she had to get out of there. _Now!_ “I should go.”

“Waverly, wait-” Nicole stood but Waverly had already grabbed her things and begun heading for the door.

She bumped into Jeremy as he finally made it back with their coffees, nearly knocking him right off his feet in her haste. Waverly steadied him before continuing her escape, throwing an apology over her shoulder as she went.

Waverly slumped down onto a bar stool and dropped her chin into her hands with a _humph._ Gus frowned at her the moment she noticed her, wandering over to stand opposite.

“What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to work today.”

Waverly sighed, “I know. Can I just get a drink?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” Gus poured her a drink, hovering on the other side of the bar with concern still furrowing her brow. “You feeling alright?”

Waverly elected to take a slow drink instead of answering Gus’ question. Of course, Gus just stood there patiently waiting for her to crack. Eventually she did, leading her answer with a groan.

“I just made a total fool out of myself.”

Gus scoffed, “Now, I find that very hard to believe.”

“Believe it,” Waverly smiled as sarcastically as she could. She threw the rest of her whiskey back in one, tapping for another before she’d even fully swallowed the previous one. Gus didn’t look particularly happy about it, but she poured her another. “Thank you.”

“Waverly?”

The hand lifting her glass to her lips paused at the sound of Nicole calling her name. Couldn’t she just have given Waverly a little more time to be mortified in peace? Obviously she’d have to see Nicole again, but did it really have to be right this minute?

Waverly threw back as much of her drink as she could before turning around. Despite how much she might want to, she couldn’t just ignore Nicole, so she might as well find out why Nicole felt the need to disturb her as she tried to drown her embarrassment.

“Yes, Agent Haught?”

“Waverly…” Nicole sighed, although Waverly wasn’t sure why. _She_ was the one so concerned about professionalism.

Nicole took a step closer and lowered her voice. “Can we talk somewhere? Somewhere less…public?”

With a roll of her eyes, Waverly slid off the stool she’d been occupying and made her way towards the stairs at the back of the bar without a word. She knew Nicole was following behind her, and with each footstep that echoed her own she regretted being so impulsive.

Maybe she should have found out what Nicole wanted to talk about before deciding if she _wanted_ to talk…

The door to the apartment above Shorty’s was stiff, it hadn’t been used since the renovations at the Homestead had been completed, and there was a musty edge to the air that Waverly tried her best to ignore.

“Okay, so talk!” Waverly regretted how hostile the words sounded as soon as they left her, but she was in too deep now. If she backed down now, she’d feel like an idiot. _More_ of an idiot. 

“Well…I wanted to apologise. I…I really would have loved to go out with you, _if_ I didn’t have a job to do here.”

“You don’t have to say that,” Waverly just needed an hour or two to herself to deal with feeling embarrassed. She didn’t need Nicole to lie to her just to soften the blow.

“I’m not _just saying it…”_ Nicole took a hesitant step closer, her lip between her teeth. “Was my flirting really not as obvious as I thought it’d been that first night I walked in here?”

“No…it- I thought maybe I’d been misremembering it.” Waverly tore her eyes away from Nicole’s lips, it wasn’t fair that she was this close when she’d made it clear nothing would happen.

“Not at all…but I promised you and Wynonna that no one would know you were involved in this, I can’t increase the risk of that any further.” Nicole sighed, what looked like genuine regret in her eyes. “Dating someone I shouldn’t even really be talking to is grounds for a lot more than just dismissal from Black Badge. I can’t protect either of you if that happens.”

“I guess I didn’t consider that…” Waverly admitted with a blush, somehow even more embarrassed than before.

The pull she’d been feeling towards Nicole had been more than enough to block out any consideration of why it might not be the cleverest idea.

“I couldn’t just leave things how we did…not when it seems like I’m going to be here awhile. Wynonna can’t do this without you, and neither can I.”

“Right…”

Waverly had no clue how she was supposed to just carry on working with Nicole for however long she was going to be in Purgatory. She’d just have to start thinking of Nicole in ways that were far less appealing than the thoughts she’d been allowing herself lately.

She’d have to start by tearing her eyes away from Nicole’s lips whenever they were only a couple feet apart…though that was easier said than done.

“Sorry I stormed out instead of talking about it like adults.”

“Yeah, well I’m sorry I couldn’t say yes to your offer...” Nicole offered her a truly apologetic smile as she offered up her hand for Waverly to shake.

So goddamn _professional_ …except neither of them let go after what would be considered a suitable amount of time. Nicole’s breathing visibly sped up, her eyes dropped to Waverly’s lips for just a moment before locking back on Waverly’s own.

It felt magnetic; Waverly wasn’t even sure who leaned in first but their lips were closing in on each other, a mere hairsbreadth apart when Wynonna’s voice travelled up the stairs.

“Waves? You up there? Gus said you were up here!”

“Shit,” Waverly grumbled as she dropped back down to her heels, far too hot and bothered from a kiss that hadn’t even happened. “Yes, we’re up here!”

Wynonna burst through the door, like she was just about to catch her in the middle of something. “Who’s we?! Oh…Nicole, hi.”

“Hi Wynonna.” Nicole was subtly trying to put more space between, Waverly knew her sister though, and the action was anything but subtle judging by Wynonna’s face.

Wynonna raised an eyebrow in their direction, “What are you doing up here?”

“We need somewhere private to talk about…curse stuff.”

“Curse stuff?” Wynonna’s eyes zeroed in on Waverly, squinting at her pretty lame explanation.

Waverly nodded quickly, hopeful that Wynonna wouldn’t push her on this. Not now anyway…back at home, maybe Waverly would say something, but not here. Not in front of Nicole.

“Don’t we have a whole office to do that in at the station?”

“We weren’t at the station…obviously,” Nicole laughed, far too awkwardly and somehow Wynonna squinted even harder before rolling her eyes.

“Whatever. It’s good you’re both here, I’ve got a lead.”

“What lead?” Waverly questioned; she didn’t know anything about any potential new leads.

“Sometimes I do _do_ my own research, baby girl,” Wynonna replied, a little snippily. “Anyway, a couple of Bobo’s guys have apparently started losing faith that he’ll be able to keep them from the business end of Peacemaker. They’ve struck out on their own and I plan on taking them out before they figure out that I know where they’re hiding.”

“Oh.” That was actually a pretty decent plan. Waverly tried not to look too surprised, Wynonna did have the ability to come up with them, but she just happened to use her brain power on other things more often than not.

“Don’t look so shocked!” Wynonna huffed, followed quickly by a wink and a smile that let Waverly know she wasn’t actually the least bit bothered by it. Her attention turned to Nicole, “Well? Are you coming?”

“What? Oh…right, yes.” Nicole was obviously still a little distracted and Waverly had to stifle a laugh.

Wynonna disappeared back downstairs, saying something about grabbing a whiskey for the road, before either of them could tell her that probably wasn’t the best plan…but Waverly wasn’t going to complain about being left alone with Nicole again.

Not wanting to waste any time, Waverly pulled Nicole back across the space she’d created between them. A grin fixed firmly on her face until she saw the hesitation on Nicole’s.

“I really shouldn’t be doing this…” Nicole worried her lip between her teeth even as she let Waverly pull her closer still.

“So, you’re saying you really _don’t_ want to have dinner with me?” Waverly challenged, leaning up slow enough for Nicole to stop her if she chose to.

“Waverly…” Nicole squeezed Waverly’s waist; her face contorted into a grimace. “I can’t go out with you while I’m here for work.”

Waverly’s whole body slumped, had she been wrong to get her hopes up? Nicole had been so _so_ close to kissing her…didn’t that mean _something?_

“I mean…” Nicole took a deep breath, her cheeks bright red. “I’m not saying we couldn’t be…something casual…?”

Waverly didn’t expect that suggestion to hurt quite as much as it did…

She wasn’t good enough to date but she was good enough for a quickie? She’d heard that before…it seemed like that’s all anyone thought the Earps were worth.

Putting as much distance between them as she could in the small room, Waverly shook her head. She couldn’t look Nicole in the eyes, for fear she’d look just as pissed as everyone else Waverly had turned down that offer from.

“You should go get Wynonna before she has more than one drink for the road…”

“Waves…” Nicole tried to close the distance between them, but Waverly just stepped further back, her arms wrapping around herself in an instinctive response.

Part of her knew that Nicole would never try to convince her to change her mind with even the slightest forceful touch, but old habits die hard…

Nicole sighed, “I’ll…see you around.”

Waverly waited until Nicole had left, closing the door gently behind her, before she unfurled her arms and fell back onto the disused bed. She never should have listened to Nicole’s request to speak in private.

Before she was simply embarrassed, now she just felt numb. She really thought Nicole was totally unlike anyone she’d ever met before, but maybe Wynonna was right.

Maybe there really was more than one curse on the Earps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm emotionally crippled after finishing Bly Manor, let me know if you want to join my support group [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	8. Whirlwind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week, Nicole deals with the fallout from her suggestion to Waverly. 
> 
> Huge thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for beta duties!

“Come on, Earp. Let’s go,” Nicole demanded, probably a little too forcefully, not slowing down on her way through the bar, towards the exit. She needed to shoot some Revenants, _now._

She just had to make sure Waverly was okay after she’d left the station, and obviously she just _had_ to listen to the part of her that _wanted_ Waverly, no matter how inappropriate it was.

If she had just taken a second to think about how her suggestion of casual might sound to Waverly. Waverly, who wanted to have dinner with her, an actual date…something Nicole hadn’t done since Shae. Definitely _not_ casual.

“Woah, Haught-head, slow down!” Wynonna caught up with her, half-way to where she’d parked her SUV. “I haven’t even told you where we’re going yet.”

“So, where are we going then?” Nicole snapped, regretting it instantly when Wynonna stopped walking to glare at her.

“What the fuck happened between me coming downstairs and you stomping out here?”

“Nothing,”

“You realise Waverly is just going to tell me what happened later, right?” Wynonna crossed her arms over her chest, a raised eyebrow that let Nicole know she wasn’t about to drop this.

“I suggested something I shouldn’t have…and I am going to apologise for it, but she clearly didn’t want to hear it from me right now. I wasn’t about to force her to listen to it now…or ever…” Nicole muttered the last part, mostly to herself but it was clear Wynonna heard her.

Wynonna frowned, her nostrils flaring, and Nicole could tell she was trying _very_ hard not to lose her cool. Through gritted teeth, Wynonna managed to ask, “What exactly did you suggest?”

Nicole was embarrassed to even say it out loud to Waverly’s sister, but Wynonna was right. Waverly _would_ just tell her later and maybe hearing Nicole’s side might make her less likely to punch her in the face.

“She asked me out to dinner, but I had to say no – not because I wanted to, I _had_ to! If Black Badge found out I was socialising with someone here…they wouldn’t stop until they found out exactly what she knows.”

Nicole shook her head; it didn’t matter how devoted you were, Black Badge had not remained such a well-kept secret for this long without being suspicious of anyone even remotely close to one of their agents. 

She could lose everything she’d worked so hard for, and who knew what they might do to Waverly. It was bad enough already, having to hide the Earps involvement in completing her mission; increasing that risk by going out to dinner with Waverly would be irresponsible. Increasing it by hooking up with Waverly, that would be pure selfishness.

“I suggested…we could do casual. I wasn’t thinking, and it would be just as unprofessional and risky, but she’d just been about to kiss me and I-“

“You were thinking you could just sleep with my sister and you wouldn’t have to worry about your bosses finding out because you didn’t go to dinner with her first?!” Wynonna quickly closed the space between them, prodding Nicole in the chest and ignoring each “ow” that she let out. “I told you my conditions for working with you, I thought _federal agents_ were supposed to be smart?!”

“I didn’t say it was a smart suggestion…” Nicole mumbled as she rubbed the spot on her sternum that Wynonna had managed to prod each and every time. “I just…your sister is _amazing_ and if the situation was different then-”

“Then what?! If the situation was any different, you wouldn’t be here, would you? If you’re saying that going on a single date with my sister would put your job at risk, what made you think sleeping with her wouldn’t? You don’t just get to have your cake and eat it too!”

“I know,” Nicole sighed; she didn’t need Wynonna to yell it at her to know but it did drive the point home.

Nothing could happen with Waverly. Not while she was here for work and once that was done, she’d be gone…there was no future where Nicole would be free to go out with Waverly and it not be incredibly complicated.

“I _told_ you I’m going to apologise, and I am. When she’s willing hear it.”

Wynonna’s nostrils flared once more, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. “The only reason I’m not kicking your ass right now is because I need you on my side for this, but if you don’t apologise the _second_ she lets you-“

“I will, I swear.”

The car ride was mostly silent, save for Wynonna’s directions to yet another run-down property on the edge of Purgatory. Nicole was becoming convinced that there were more buildings like this surrounding the town than functioning establishments within it.

Wynonna was right, not one of the Revenants had a clue that she knew where they were hiding. It was almost pitifully easy to take them out and despite what had happened outside Shorty’s, they completed the task as the efficient team they had quickly become. 

Although, Wynonna did suggest that maybe this time Nicole didn’t join her for a drink to celebrate like the others. Nicole didn’t argue with her, even if she was beginning to enjoy their ritual, Waverly was not likely to be ready to see her again just yet.

She dropped Wynonna off outside Shorty’s and carried on the short distance to the station. She had plenty to report back to Lucado, with minor edits of course, and a bottle of whiskey sitting in her desk drawer that was calling her name. She could walk back to the motel…

A fresh stack of folders and paper of varying colours sitting on Jeremy’s desk caught Nicole’s attention the moment she walked through the door. They had definitely not been there when she left.

Before she could question where they’d come from, Jeremy was insisting she fill him in on the mission’s success. Seeing him walk calmly over to the board with the list of Revenants and crossing out the names of their newest dearly departured, made Nicole frown. Waverly always seemed so much more excited when she did that…

“Where did these come from anyway?” Nicole finally lifted up the file on the top of the stack, instantly wishing she hadn’t been so curious.

“Waverly stopped by; said she’d found these in her old apartment.” Jeremy gently patted the rest of the pile he had obviously been making his way through. “She thought they might be useful.”

“And are they?” Nicole swallowed down the question she truly wanted to ask, namely _how was Waverly?_

“Yeah, for sure and by the looks of it she started gathering some of this research in high school!”

“Of course, she did.” Nicole laughed; it wouldn’t surprise her in the least if the research had started long before Waverly was in high school.

Nicole couldn’t help the quiet sigh that escaped her lips as she made her way to her desk and began composing her report. The more detail she put into it, the less likely Lucado would be to poke her nose into what was _really_ going on here again, but it was hard when all she could think about was how good her apology to Waverly needed to be.

“She seemed a little…off?” Jeremy said eventually; raising his voice enough for Nicole to hear from her office.

She looked up from her laptop to see Jeremy staring down at his own, clearly trying very hard not to look at her. His eyes flicked over, locking with her own for a brief moment before he looked back down.

“Did she…did she say anything else when she stopped by?” Nicole just couldn’t help herself.

“Just that she planned on finishing off a bottle of bubble gum sake once she got home…I don’t think _anyone_ in a good mood could possibly think that was a good idea.” 

Nicole immediately frowned, that really did not sound like a good idea…and it was definitely her fault. If she had messed up with Waverly this badly, how long would it be before she considered hearing Nicole’s apology?

Ignoring the fact that Nicole needed Waverly to complete this mission, right now she _needed_ Waverly to know that she was sorry…no matter how much she knew the mission was supposed to come first.

The report could be rushed, she’d just have to make up for it on the next one. She got the gist typed out and sent off before grabbing her coat and heading for the door.

“You’re leaving?”

“I need to- I just have something I need to do. I’ll see you in the morning, coffee on me!”

She didn’t wait to see Jeremy’s reaction; he always seemed to have a curious sense of knowing when something was off, and Nicole’s poker face had developed some sort of major malfunction ever since she’d met Waverly Earp.

Nicole drove straight to the Earp homestead. Surely by now Waverly would be back there and if Nicole got there fast enough, she might be able to make it before Waverly made her way through too much of the truly disgusting sounding drink. Who would even think to buy such a thing anyway?

It was just starting to get dark as she pulled onto the property, and she could see a faint light coming from inside, so at least one of them was home. As she got closer, a second source of light drew her eye, coming from the side of the house…a fire, with three silhouettes crowding around it.

Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea…just showing up unannounced, except there wasn’t exactly an opportunity to back out once all three figures turned to face her approaching vehicle.

With a resigned sigh, Nicole killed her engine and stepped out. She’d made the mess, now she had to fix it.

Nicole’s wave already felt incredibly awkward, and when Wynonna grabbed Dolls by the arm and led him inside without a word, it only felt more so. Waverly just stood there as Nicole took cautious steps forward, Nicole could tell that she was trying desperately to appear angry, but she could see the hints of hurt on her face with each flicker of the firelight across it.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to apologise.” Nicole shoved her hands into her pockets, she wasn’t sure she’d ever been so nervous about an apology before. “I know you’re probably not ready to hear it yet, but I needed you to know. I am so sorry, Waverly. I never should have suggested…what I suggested.”

“It’s not like you’re the first person to think that’s all I’m worth,” Waverly murmured softly. 

“Waverly…” Nicole stepped forward, taking Waverly’s hand before she could stop herself, and feeling immediately grateful that her own wasn’t simply slapped away.

Waverly’s false exterior was crumbling completely, and all Nicole could see was the truth; she’d been a selfish asshole to someone who deserved so much better.

“That’s not all you’re worth, not by a long shot! Do you have any idea how hard it is for me not to just say yes to going out with you, or ask if I can actually kiss you right now, to just forget my obligations here?”

Nicole swallowed hard, the whole truth was coming out whether she planned it to or not.

“The only reason I suggested something casual was because I thought _maybe _I wouldn’t drive myself insane thinking about how incredible you are if I were able to experience even a hint of what it might be like to actually be with you…”__

__“Nicole-”_ _

__“Hold on, I’m not done.” Nicole gently squeezed Waverly’s hand in apology for interrupting her. If she was being honest, she was going to be completely honest and she had to finish. “It was selfish of me to even think about kissing you when I couldn’t say yes to going out with you, and while I’ll admit just the thought of it fried my brain a little, it’s no excuse. I was only thinking about what I wanted, so I’m sorry. I wish things were different, I really do, but I promised that Black Badge wouldn’t find out about either of you, I won’t risk breaking that promise.”_ _

__“Are you done now?” Waverly cracked a small smile as Nicole nodded, unable to hold back a laugh at herself. “I guess that was a pretty good apology.”_ _

__“I’ve had a lot of practice…” Nicole didn’t want to get her hopes up, but Waverly was still smiling at her. “Does that mean you’ll think about forgiving me for being a total selfish idiot?”_ _

__“How about you save me from being a third wheel around this fire and I’ll think about it?”_ _

__With a surge of relief, Nicole nodded. She could do that. She was probably still going to drive herself crazy just being around Waverly when she didn’t absolutely have to be, but she would rather that, than Waverly hurting._ _

__Which only confirmed just _how_ crazy she was going to drive herself._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone reading this fic, your comments always make me smile! 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	9. Blood & Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like just yesterday that I posted the last chapter and here I am with another one :) 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for being the best beta!

The only thing Waverly had wanted since the moment she understood the Earp curse, was to end it. For her sake, for Wynonna’s sake and for the whole of the Ghost River Triangle.

Sure, there were other weird things going on in the area besides the curse, and who knew if that would stop once the Revenants were gone for good, but Waverly wanted to live in a world where she and her sister weren’t constantly looking over their shoulders.

Now that Nicole was part of their team, she would have had to forgive her at some point…or at least _act_ like she had forgiven her, but that apology felt sincere. Waverly couldn’t fault Nicole for being a little… _fuzzy_ after they’d almost kissed, she hadn’t exactly been thinking clearly herself.

Nicole _had_ already explained why they couldn’t go out; almost giving into their carnal desires for a moment didn’t actually change any of the reasons she’d had for saying that. Waverly could be a grown up about it, even if she couldn’t stop thinking about how great a kisser Nicole probably was.

For once in her life, Wynonna seemed to understand that Waverly really needed space to deal with the situation she’d gotten herself into. She and Dolls remained securely inside the house until Waverly encouraged Nicole to sit down next to her around the fire pit.

Waverly hadn’t even been sure she was ready to forgive Nicole when she started her little speech, so she was a little surprised when Wynonna made absolutely zero remark or gesture to indicate her surprise at Nicole sitting right there. She had told Waverly that Nicole really did seem sorry, until she’d seen it for herself though, Waverly couldn’t believe it.

Honestly, Waverly was surprised that Nicole said yes to her suggestion. She easily could have decided they shouldn’t spend any time together outside of official Black Badge business... something that Waverly didn’t want to happen, despite herself.

Just because they couldn’t go out on a date, that didn’t mean they couldn’t at least be friendly, right?

“Before you rudely interrupted us, we were explaining to Dolls that if he wants to know what all those boxes you had delivered were, he’d have to ask you himself.” Wynonna said to Nicole, as she winked at Waverly, Nicole very clearly seeing and very clearly realising that was not at all how Wynonna had been explaining it to Dolls.

Waverly leaned forward, grabbing the whiskey from Wynonna’s hand and passing it straight to their guest, as she waited to see how Nicole would respond. It wasn’t an Earp fire pit if you weren’t drinking, and she felt like Nicole could use it.

Nicole sighed, seemingly happy to give a little information away, as a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Maybe she’d started to enjoy Wynonna’s particular brand of mischief. “Jeremy needed some equipment to do some analysis.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised Jeremy, the super-nerd, doesn’t travel with a full lab everywhere he goes,” Wynonna snorted, and Waverly swiftly kicked her in the shin.

“Hey!”

“Be nice! They are _helping us,_ remember?”

Wynonna rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah.”

“We have plenty of equipment at the station, I’m sure the Sheriff would have let you use it,” Dolls chimed in, ignoring the sisterly bickering that he’d grown more than accustomed to by now.

Waverly smiled at his kind, but ultimately futile suggestion. 

“With all due respect.” Nicole took a long pull from the bottle before giving it directly back to Waverly, much to the chagrin of Wynonna who was eagerly awaiting its return. “The equipment at the station is not exactly up to the task.”

It was probably the whiskey Gus had served her at Shorty’s, combined with a few swigs of the bubble gum sake atrocity - that Wynonna had thankfully taken away from her before she could torture herself too much - but Waverly couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her at the frown on Dolls’ face. He was a great cop; his scientific knowledge was simply limited to say the least.

“Yeah, Xavier!” Wynonna stuck out her tongue at him before insistently motioning for the whiskey to get back to her.

Nicole steered them back to subjects she was evidently more comfortable discussing. While the fire slowly died, they talked and joked, and Waverly didn’t feel like drinking away her woes so much anymore…even when Nicole announced she should get going.

Waverly wrongly assumed their goodbye wouldn’t be awkward, and it probably wouldn’t have been had Wynonna and Dolls not rushed inside, leaving them alone beside the fading fire the second she’d agreed to see Nicole at the station the next day.

It looked like Nicole didn’t know whether to go in for a handshake, a hug or stick with the safest option, a simple wave. The uncomfortable smile, the stiff shoulders…Waverly fingers itched desperately to smooth up Nicole’s arms and just _relax_ her. Was it really going to this hard being around each other?

“Thanks for inviting me to stay, I had a nice time.” Nicole’s smile started to look a little more natural, almost like she couldn’t help it as she spoke the truth. “Was it enough to earn a little of your forgiveness?”

“It was…you should come over again sometime soon though, might earn you a little more,” Waverly suggested playfully, wishing she hadn’t when Nicole’s face fell. “Unless you don’t want to, of course…”

“I would, I just…the more time I spend around you, the harder it’s going to be not to wish our circumstances were entirely different.”

“Oh…” Waverly blushed, Nicole’s eyes visibly dipping down to her lips before quickly righting themselves.

Waverly already didn’t like this situation, but not getting to spend _any_ time around Nicole unless it involved the curse? She was going to _hate_ that.

“Sorry…I-I shouldn’t have-” Nicole blushed this time, furiously, as she turned her back on Waverly and fled to her car. 

  
After what Waverly could only describe as a restless night, full of overthinking and one fleeting dream involving Nicole, she and Wynonna made their way to the station.

Before Black Badge’s involvement, Wynonna would usually wait a couple of days before dispatching another Revenant. She and Waverly both agreed that she needed to be focussed, and not running off the high of eradicating her previous target. Nicole didn’t seem to share their logic on that.

Without much more than an obligatory “good morning”, Nicole launched into her game-plan for the next lot of Revenants she wanted to help Wynonna tackle.

Waverly couldn’t help but be impressed all over again, even if she was a little thrown by Nicole almost completely ignoring her existence. With Nicole’s tactical knowledge and persistence leading them, they really could be enroute to ending the curse far sooner than she had ever imagined.

It made sense that it was only Wynonna who said goodbye to Waverly as she and Nicole headed out to do some reconnaissance. She’d been worried that Nicole’s honesty from the night before was going to make things a little awkward, she just hoped it wouldn’t last long and they could get back to how things had been before…even if that did just mean as _kind of_ colleagues.

Even though she wasn’t exactly in the mood, she hung back and began taking Jeremy through all the research she’d just dropped on him the day before. At the time she thought she’d talk him through it right there and then, even as a distraction, but the thought of being there when Nicole came back was too much.

“I’m sorry I didn’t explain any of this before I left yesterday,” Waverly finally said when they were about halfway through the pile.

Jeremy was clever enough to figure out most of what she’d been writing about, but there were plenty of random pages that would seem entirely unclear to anyone except her.

“You seemed like you could use an afternoon off, hopefully it helped?” Jeremy looked at her, his smile full of such genuine kindness that she wished she could just be honest with him. 

“Yeah…it’s getting there,” Waverly replied as truthfully as the situation allowed.

She thought she could see a need to press her for a less vague answer but blessedly, he simply nodded, letting them get back to the task at hand.

Waverly’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she slipped it out to see Wynonna’s picture on her screen. Maybe she and Nicole were done for the day already, or more likely Wynonna needed Waverly to refresh her memory on something, so they didn’t waste time tailing the wrong person.

“What did you forget this time?” Waverly rolled her eyes with a fond smile, that fell instantly the second she heard Wynonna curse down the phone.

“Shit. Waves, grab Jeremy and get him to the hospital!”

Waverly paled, “What?! What happened?”

“Nicole got knocked out… _hard!_ Fuck, she’s bleeding all over her car, but she said something about Jeremy before she lost consciousness. So just get him-”

“Wynonna-”

“Just get to the hospital, okay? I’m almost there!” Wynonna hung up, but not before Waverly heard her screaming at someone to get the hell out of her way.

Waverly stood, frozen in shock as Jeremy stared at her, clearly waiting for her to enlighten him. The problem was, she couldn’t really tell him anything other than Nicole was hurt and they needed to get to the hospital, it wasn’t like she could distract Wynonna by calling her back to ask for details.

It wasn’t clear if Jeremy was freaking out purely because of the little Waverly could share about Nicole, or because she’d driven so far over the speed limit that she was genuinely surprised she’d not been pulled over on their way to the hospital.

By the time she’d found a spot and rushed towards the emergency room entrance, Nicole was physically forcing her way past Wynonna and a small horde of hospital employees. Was she trying to _leave?_

She had to be in shock, the huge bump on her head and the blood soaked sleeve of her shirt, that only seemed to be getting more saturated by the second, definitely needed medical attention.

“Nicole!” Waverly rushed forward, trying fruitlessly to stop Nicole. “Where are you going? You need to see a doctor!”

“I can’t be here!” Nicole pushed past her and then Jeremy with ease.

The hospital staff hung back as the rest of them followed Nicole back outside; clearly, they weren’t going to force someone who didn’t want their help to take it.

Once they’d caught up to her, Waverly’s worry only increased. Nicole was blinking rapidly, frowning as she looked around, seemingly trying to figure out where to go next. Whatever had hit her in the head, it had done a number on her and she needed to get checked out.

“Nicole, you should really-”

“Je-Jeremy…?” Nicole ignored Waverly’s concern to squint at Jeremy, almost like she wasn’t sure she’d gotten his name right. “We’re going back to the office,”

“No way! You look like you need stitches!” Jeremy tried to get a hand on Nicole’s arm but she quickly jerked away, wincing at the movement.

As if just noticing her injury for the first time, she looked down at her arm and frowned. The blood had drenched her shirt, but she didn’t look nearly alarmed enough, “I can stitch it,”

“What is your problem?!” Waverly finally snapped and Nicole’s wide eyes met her own. “You _need_ to be seen by a doctor!”

“If they so much as type my name into this hospital’s computer, Black Badge will know I’ve been hurt. If Black Badge knows I’ve been hurt, the first thing they will do is send someone here. Someone that I don’t know if I can trust, someone who might find out about you. Both of you!”

“You can’t-”

“It is not up for discussion,” Nicole interrupted harshly, with no obvious regret. “Either someone drives me back to the station, or I’m walking.”

Nicole glared between all of them, so much more like the _agent_ than Waverly had been used to recently. She didn’t seem to be alone in being too stunned to say a word as the silence stretched on. Was she seriously risking her own health just to keep Black Badge from finding out about them?

“Fine!” Wynonna yielded after a few moments, “Fine…but we’re going to the homestead. If we walk into the station with you looking like _this,_ Nedley is going to call an ambulance and there won’t be any stopping him!”

Wynonna stalked off, presumably in the direction of where she’d left Nicole’s SUV. It took a moment for Waverly’s brain to kick back into gear; when it did, she decided that she’d be getting herself and Jeremy back to the homestead before them.

If Nicole really was willing to go this far to keep Black Badge away, the least Waverly could do was treat Nicole’s wound…

Predictably, Wynonna and Nicole were arguing as they stepped into the house; Wynonna trying to convince Nicole that she had a concussion, and Nicole absolutely adamant that she’d had worse.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t still have a concussion,” Waverly pointed out with a raised eyebrow as the pair entered the kitchen.

Waverly pulled back a chair from around the table, where she’d set up the suture kit she purchased after the first time Wynonna had gotten hurt by a Revenant, and directed Nicole to sit. “Let me see your arm.”

“I told you I can take care of it myself.”

“Yeah, well so can I!” Waverly was not going to budge; she’d only had to do this once before, for Wynonna, but surely it would be better than Nicole attempting the odd angle herself. “Just let me see it,” 

Nicole sat, begrudgingly letting Waverly help remove her shirt so the wound was fully visible. Wynonna threw her hands in the air as it became clear just how deep the cut was.

“Ugh, gross! I’m out!”

Jeremy quickly turned green before following Wynonna into the other room.

“You really should have stayed at the hospital…the closest thing I have to anaesthetic is vodka,”

“Good enough,” Nicole grabbed the bottle with her good arm, downing a good few sips before Waverly took it back. She needed to keep some to pour over the cut once she’d cleaned the rest of the blood from Nicole’s skin. 

As Waverly poured, Nicole gasped and slammed her fist against the table. “Fuck!”

“I told you…” Waverly grimaced. She did her best, to be as gentle as she could as she began to suture the wound, but the rigid jaw and tight fist from Nicole told her it still hurt like a bitch. “Was keeping Black Badge away really worth this?”

“Yes,” Nicole replied through gritted teeth. She met Waverly’s eyes briefly before staring back down at her clenched fist. “I promised.”

“Would it really be so bad if we had to sign a contract with them? I know I said it didn’t sit right with me, but you work for them…how bad can they be?”

“Waverly…” Nicole sighed, wincing once again as Waverly pulled another of the sutures taut. “My whole life is dictated by them…I don’t want that for you. For anyone.”

Waverly frowned, “Then why did you start working for them?”

“When you’re recruited by a super-secret government agency, you don’t really get to ask a lot of questions before you say yes or no…and you don’t exactly get to change your mind without a hell of a lot of consequences.” 

“Oh…”

“I get to protect people…even if they have no idea. That’s what I focus on,” Nicole murmured quietly as Waverly finished off the final stitch.

She didn’t know what she could possibly say to that. Waverly had assumed that Nicole’s willingness to keep Black Badge away had simply been born out of her need to work with the Earps to complete her mission…that was still probably a factor, but now it appeared there was so much more to it than she first thought.

Nicole thanked Waverly once she’d finished covering the wound with a dressing and reminding her that she needed to keep it clean.

“Thank _you,_ Nicole.”

“For what?”

“For protecting me…and Wynonna. You didn’t need to do that.”

“Yes, I did.” Nicole avoided any eye contact as she got to her feet, bundled her blood-soaked shirt into a ball and dropped it in the trash as she left the room. “Wynonna, I need my keys back.”

“No!” Waverly leapt to her feet; there was absolutely no way that Nicole could drive if she might have a concussion. Not to mention the fair amount of vodka she’d consumed while Waverly worked. “Nicole, you can’t drive! Jeremy, can you drive her back to…wherever it is you two are staying.”

For the first time, Waverly realised that she didn’t actually know where they were living out of while in Purgatory. She’d wanted to ask, so many times, but Nicole had never offered up the information willingly, so Waverly worried she might be intruding.

“The Motel but uh…slight problem with that,” Jeremy interjected with a grimace.

Nicole sighed, dropping her chin to her chest, “Jeremy doesn’t drive. I’ll be fine, just give me my keys.”

“Absolutely not, you are not driving. You can stay here tonight, then we can see how you’re feeling in the morning. We have plenty of room.” Waverly levelled Nicole with a look that left no room for argument.

Sure, one of them could drive them back into town but that wouldn’t allow for Waverly to actually keep an eye on Nicole, and she was sure Nicole would simply order Jeremy not to check on her if they were left alone.

It took a few moments, but Nicole deflated, clearly realising that she wasn’t going to win this fight; not when Wynonna had possession of her keys.

As Waverly cooked enough food to feed a small army, Wynonna set the living room up to accommodate their guests. Jeremy tried his best to initiate some small talk throughout dinner and eventually, the tense atmosphere eased.

Waverly knew she wasn’t contributing a whole lot, she just couldn’t keep herself from watching Nicole…a million thoughts running through her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you to everyone who is continuing to read this, I do hope you are enjoying! 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	10. Sweet Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the world is a dumpster fire right now, my fingers and toes are crossed for all my US friends. I hope this can help take your mind off things for a little while! 
> 
> Endless thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for being an awesome beta!

Just like every night since Nicole arrived in town, she found it near impossible to sleep. Partly due to being on a sofa that really wasn’t long enough for her to stretch out, the continuous ache in her arm…and the knowledge that Waverly was asleep under the same roof.

She didn’t know how long she lay there restless before deciding that getting some fresh air might help.

The Earp homestead was an amazingly peaceful place at night, the quiet sounds of animals off in the distance, the fullest array of stars Nicole had seen for a very long time. Honestly, it was kind of her dream. A piece of land that she could just get away from it all on, maybe get a dog or a cat, but mostly just _calm._

No demons, no magic or evil curses…allowing herself the luxury of not feeling so responsible for the safeguarding of supernatural secrets.

It had to be close to an hour that she sat on the front porch, in a wooden chair that was probably older than she was, just staring off into the night. Her eyes adjusted more and more as the time stretched on, allowing her to see even more of her surroundings in the dark. One day she’d be able to have something like this to call her own.

The screen door creaked open behind her. A bleary-eyed Waverly stood in the doorway, wrapped in a fluffy robe, messy hair and a frown. She looked adorable.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Nicole shrugged. It was starting to feel a little chilly so the interruption was as good a reason as any to think about heading back inside.

Nicole rose from her seat just as Waverly let the screen door close behind her. She panicked as Waverly got closer, raising her hand up towards Nicole’s face with unbearably soft eyes. This really wasn’t getting any easier. 

“How’s your head?” Waverly swiped Nicole’s hair to the side so she could inspect the bump from her earlier encounter with a Revenant and a solid plank of wood. 

The gentle fingers against her skin felt far too soothing. The urge to close her eyes to suitably savor the sensation was almost overwhelming, and Nicole swallowed hard. “Better…”

Waverly smiled, her eyes crinkling as she dropped back down onto her heels. “And your arm?”

“That definitely still hurts,” Nicole huffed; it was also starting to feel particularly itchy under the dressing, which wasn’t helping things either.

“Come back inside, I’ll find you some more painkillers.” Waverly led the way into the kitchen, where she found the small bottle and silently filled a glass with water for her.

She set both on the counter for Nicole without a word, obviously she didn’t want to disturb Jeremy who was sleeping in the next room. Or Wynonna, who Nicole could hear gently snoring on the other side of a make-shift curtain.

Waverly watched intently as Nicole swallowed a couple pills, washing them down with the whole glass of water, and despite the liquid working its way to her stomach, she felt absolutely parched.

“I’ve been thinking…” Waverly uttered quietly, stepping a little closer.

Nicole swallowed thickly as Waverly’s hands landed on her shoulders, her hands smoothing along to the back of Nicole’s neck, “About what?”

“If we had to keep things…casual, maybe I could handle that.”

“Waverly…” Nicole’s mind wasn’t clouded by lust now, and even if it _was_ her suggestion, she couldn’t say it was actually a smart idea now that she was thinking clearly.

Black Badge could still find out; find out that Nicole was being completely unprofessional and decide that was more than enough evidence that she had let classified information slip. “Even if we kept it casual, that doesn’t mean Black Badge wouldn’t find out.”

Nicole bit back the tiny moan begging to come out as Waverly’s blunt nails scratched gently against the base of her neck. Her self-control was going to snap any second if Waverly kept looking at her like that.

“I meant what I said, having your whole life controlled…you don’t deserve that,”

“And you do?” Waverly’s palms framed Nicole’s face, moving the loose hairs out of her eyes in the process. Waverly was genuinely asking, and not for the first time Nicole wondered if she did actually deserve any better.

Nicole had jumped at the chance to join BBD, she didn’t get the opportunity to ask many questions beforehand but truthfully, she hadn’t had any. She was simply desperate to get away from the family who didn’t support her dreams, even if it meant signing away almost every personal freedom she had – what did it matter if it was for the greater good, right?

And then she’d met Shae…before she had fully realised quite how dangerous this job was going to be, before she realised just how much her life was going to be centred around work and not the people she loved.

It really didn’t take long before Nicole realised it wouldn’t last; too many secrets, too much hiding the biggest part of her life…Nicole couldn’t do it to herself or Shae any longer. She’d chosen her job over her marriage, because she thought it was the _right_ thing to do for the greatest number of people…so maybe this really was all that she deserved.

Finally, Nicole gave a very noncommittal shrug and Waverly sighed, her fingers gently tugging her closer. She was powerless to resist the proximity.

“Nicole…no one deserves that.” Waverly bit down on her lip, patience clearly waning as Nicole clung to the very last scrap of her willpower. A tongue replaced Waverly’s teeth as she wet her lips, and Nicole snapped.

She kissed Waverly, deep and hungry and so goddamn needy after all those nights just imagining what it would be like. She would have been self-conscious, had Waverly not met her lips with the same intensity.

Nicole pressed Waverly back against the counter, desperate to be as close as she possibly could until a breathy moan came from Waverly and her glass tipped over onto the countertop. A sudden reminder that they were not exactly somewhere private, and Nicole pulled back like she'd just been burned.

“Come upstairs?”

“Waves…”

“Just to get a little privacy…” Waverly clarified softly, nodding her head towards where Jeremy was asleep. “So, we can talk?”

“Talk?” Nicole smirked, her self-control slipping even further. Her instinct to flirt and tease steadily rising now that she knew how Waverly’s lips tasted, maybe this really could work if they were careful…

Waverly grinned up at her, an excitement dancing in her eyes that had Nicole’s pulse quickening. She took Nicole’s hand and led her up the stairs, quickly and quietly. The door to Waverly’s bedroom had barely closed when Nicole decided it had been long enough since she’d kissed her.

With their lips connected, Waverly walked them backwards until the back of Nicole’s knees hit the bed. Her back impacting on the mattress did little to bring her out of her euphoria, just enough to truly consider what was happening here.

“This isn’t going to make things totally awkward working together, is it?” Nicole couldn’t help a small laugh as Waverly moved to straddle her, as if things hadn’t already been vaguely awkward since Nicole revealed her true reason for being in town.

“I can barely concentrate around you as it is,” Waverly admitted sheepishly, her lips finding Nicole’s neck in what was likely an effort to conceal her flushed cheeks. “Maybe this will help get rid of some of the tension?”

“I can’t argue with that,” Nicole breathed out as Waverly’s tongue ran up the length of her throat, rapidly rendering Nicole into a hopeless wreck. 

There were numerous arguments that her mind began to supply, but Waverly’s hands began guiding her own under the robe, and Nicole’s mind went blank. Instinctively, she found the swell of Waverly’s ass, covered by a pair of silky-smooth sleep shorts, and began encouraging Waverly’s hips into a slow grind.

Waverly let out a particularly unsteady breath, and Nicole worried she’d gone too far too quickly. “This okay?”

“Yes. _Very_ okay!” Waverly brought their lips back together, grinding down more firmly and _god,_ it had been so so long since Nicole had been in a situation even remotely close to this.

Nicole’s hands smoothed up Waverly’s back, beneath the loose t-shirt she’d worn to bed. She couldn’t help but marvel at how the soft skin felt beneath her fingertips, quickly realising she could easily stay like this with Waverly for hours.

Eventually she had to pull them back from the edge of going any further, unable to stand it if Waverly regretted it. Besides, Nicole had to actually think about this casual thing without Waverly’s lips all over her.

“Maybe I should go back down to the couch…” Nicole sighed ruefully, kissing Waverly one last time, only for Waverly to tighten her arms around her neck and prolong the moment.

“We haven’t talked,” Waverly raised an eyebrow, obviously trying to entice Nicole to stay.

She couldn’t though, if only because she really _really_ didn’t want to be anywhere else right now. Nicole extricated herself from Waverly’s hold and her bed, taking one of Waverly’s hands in her own.

“I think I might need to consider some ground rules before we do this…or anything else, again.” Nicole caught the sly smile from Waverly at the possibility of _more,_ mirroring it with one of her own.

She couldn’t bear to release Waverly’s hand yet, even as she readjusted herself on the bed, pulling the covers up around her and making it look even more tempting that it had a moment ago.

“Yeah…ground rules are probably a good idea.”

“Maybe you could come by the motel tomorrow night?” Nicole gently squeezed the hand in hers, making sure that Waverly knew there were absolutely no expectations here.

“You and Jer don’t share a room, do you?”

“No,” Nicole laughed at the adorable frown on Waverly’s face. Not able to hold back any longer, she leaned back in and kept her lips just a hairbreadth away. “Jeremy was in the next one over until a few days ago…his aircon stopped working so now he’s on the first floor.”

“Oh really?” Waverly smirked as Nicole slowly nodded, and _dear lord_ it was tempting to just lean all the way in, just kiss her until the sun came up.

“Get some sleep Waves, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Nicole dropped a gentle kiss onto Waverly’s pouting lips. She wasn’t the only one disappointed that Nicole was actually going back downstairs, but it was for the best…even if every single bone in her body was telling her it wasn’t.

The following morning, Nicole considered simply grabbing her keys, waking up Jeremy and taking them both back into town when she awoke to a still quiet homestead.

It would be the smart thing to do; pretend like last night hadn’t happened or simply tell Waverly she’d made a mistake by kissing her…but she knew she wasn’t going to.

Just the thought of humoring Waverly, letting her check over the bump on her head and the stitches in her arm, brought a smile to Nicole’s face. It was only sensible to make sure she was feeling well enough to drive, since despite her assurances the day before, she hadn’t been entirely convinced she didn’t actually have a concussion.

She didn’t regret her decision; allowing herself to be admitted to the hospital would have meant one of her superiors arriving in Purgatory. God forbid, Lucado decided she wasn’t up to the task here, and after last night…that would be an even less desirable outcome than it had been at the time. 

Following a rather chipper morning salutation that woke both Jeremy and Wynonna up, Waverly ushered Nicole into the kitchen for the predicted check-up. She took her time redressing Nicole’s arm while Jeremy hovered just over her shoulder, bouncing from foot to foot until he heard the lock click open on the bathroom upstairs.

Wynonna yelled something unintelligible down the stairs as Jeremy bounded up to pee. Waverly seemed to have understood; she rolled her eyes at whatever it was as she moved to look over the bruise on Nicole’s head.

“Do you remember your name?” Waverly teased.

Nicole shook her head with a smile, “Yes. Nicole Haught.”

“Correct.” Waverly let out an impossibly adorable chuckle, “Age?”

“Twenty-seven.” Nicole raised an eyebrow; she knew what Waverly was doing but she didn’t have it in her to stop Waverly’s obvious amusement.

“Favourite colour?”

“Blue. Waverly…”

“What? You get to read all about my family history, and I know almost nothing about you…” Waverly shrugged, a slight blush across her cheeks, and Nicole couldn’t help but smile. “Do you remember kissing me last night?”

Nicole smiled wider, pulling Waverly’s chair closer with her good arm until their noses were practically touching. “I remember that perfectly.”

“Good.” Waverly leaned forward, kissing her so quickly Nicole nearly missed it before sitting back in her chair with a smug grin.

“Do _you_ remember me inviting you over tonight?”

“I do…I can come over after I finish at the bar?”

“Works for me,” Nicole beamed, “And we’ll agree on some ground rules for this?”

“The sooner the better.” Waverly’s eyes dipped to her lips and stayed there.

Nicole couldn’t help teasing her just a little, letting her tongue peek out to wet them slowly. Waverly let out a quiet growl as footsteps began down the stairs, ruining any chance of them being able to satisfy a single one of their desires.

“All clear to drive?” Jeremy asked as he came back into the room, Nicole now at a respectable distance from Waverly.

“Yup,” Nicole popped the ‘p’ as she nodded, smiling down at Waverly as she stood.

Waverly reached into the pocket of her robe; she unfurled her hand to reveal Nicole’s car keys that she’d clearly taken possession of from Wynonna at some point. Nicole let her fingers brush a little slower than necessary as she took them from Waverly’s hand, mouthing a silent “I’ll see you later” before saying a proper goodbye.

  
“Are you sure your head’s alright?” 

“What?” Nicole questioned Jeremy as they drove back towards town. “Do you really think Waverly would give me my keys if she didn’t think I was okay?”

“No…I just-you seem a little…weird?” Jeremy quickly looked away when Nicole turned to look at him.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Nicole chuckled, shaking her head at his needless worry before going back to singing softly along to the song playing through the stereo. 

“Nicole, we may not have worked together very often but I have _never_ heard you sing along with the radio…”

She immediately stopped singing. It was something she only did when she was between missions, when she let her mind truly relax for a short while. There was only one reason why she currently felt as free as when she could imagine her life wasn’t entirely controlled by her job.

“I just…like this song,” Nicole replied, desperately hoping it was at least partially convincing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :) 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	11. White Flag

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone suitably celebrated this weekend!! <3 
> 
> Waverly pays Nicole a visit at the motel for some much needed privacy...please note the rating change. 
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for beta duties 
> 
> Happy reading!

A few days off from the Revenant hunt was exactly what Nicole and Wynonna needed; if Wynonna hadn’t told Waverly that that’s what they were doing, she would have _very_ strongly suggested it.

Nicole could do with resting up her arm for a day or two and truthfully, Waverly was worried that Wynonna was getting bored of doing this the right way all the time. She had a sneaking suspicion it was the reason Nicole had managed to get blindsided by a Revenant.

Nicole hadn’t thrown Wynonna under the bus, but once she’d left, Waverly demanded to know exactly how Nicole had been injured in the first place. She knew that Nicole’s planning was painstakingly thorough, there was little chance it had been her own fault that she got hurt.

Reluctantly, Wynonna admitted that she hadn’t exactly followed the scouting plan Nicole had set out.

It was difficult not to immediately fly off the handle; instead she took a deep, calming breath before reminding her sister that even if it _wasn’t _Waverly that was with her, she still needed to be concerned for their safety.__

__“I’ll do better when we get back at it, I promise.” Wynonna’s response was uncharacteristically quiet, and Waverly worried she’d been too harsh. “There was a moment just before I managed to shoot Stevie…I really thought he was going to kill her…”_ _

__Waverly sucked in an unsteady breath; she had no idea what she or Wynonna would have done if that had actually happened. “Okay…just, look out for her. She’s risking a lot for us!”_ _

__“I know…what kind of self-sacrificing idiot doesn’t stay at the hospital with a literal chunk out of her arm?!”_ _

__“I think you just answered your own question,” Waverly sighed. She was still finding it difficult to fully grasp the fact that Nicole had put them _before_ her own wellbeing._ _

__That combined with _finally_ getting the chance to kiss Nicole the way she’d been thinking of since their first introduction, and Waverly was more than a little out of sorts. If the mission was on pause for at least a few days, hopefully that meant she and Nicole would not be interrupted by some Revenant related emergency while they agreed on their ground rules. _ _

__Now that she’d decided she could handle a no-strings situation, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait to maybe, potentially, _hopefully_ do a little more than make out with the woman she couldn’t get out of her head._ _

__“Don’t you need to get ready?” Wynonna’s question immediately brought Waverly out of her thoughts and she hoped to god her cheeks were not going to give away exactly what she’d just been thinking about._ _

__She did need to start getting ready; she had to get through a full shift at Shorty’s but then she’d get to have some real privacy with Nicole._ _

__Waverly really did prefer the day shifts at Shorty’s; it was quiet enough that she was able to read between customers and she got to deal with the regulars _before_ they pushed passed mildly drunk._ _

__More often than not, Gus handled the day shifts but today she, Curtis and Shorty were off purchasing a new jukebox for the bar. Waverly wasn’t sure why it took the three of them to make said purchase, not until they walked into the bar an hour before Gus was due to take over from Waverly._ _

__Gus looked like she’d had more than enough of the two of them and Waverly couldn’t say she was surprised. The pair had clearly been imbibing and by the looks of it, it had been most of the afternoon._ _

__Their cheeks were flushed, their arms around each other’s shoulders as they stumbled down the steps and up to the bar, each with a boisterous laugh. Waverly couldn’t help but smile at them, even after all these years as friends they could still behave and have fun like a couple of teenagers._ _

__“Should I only be offering them water?” Waverly asked her aunt as she huffed her way behind the bar._ _

__“Or coffee,” Gus confirmed before slapping her palm down on the bar in front of two empty stools, ordering the grown-men-turned-children to sit themselves down. “Sit. I’m going to grill you both a sandwich and you are going to eat the whole thing before you’re allowed to drink anymore. Got it?”_ _

__“Yes, Ma’am!” Shorty and Curtis answered in harmony, and Waverly had the good sense not to let the giggle building up inside of her escape._ _

__Gus narrowed her eyes, turned on her heel and muttered something about “Christ Almighty” as she trudged back to the kitchen._ _

__“Nuh-uh, don’t even bother.” Waverly pointedly ignored the smiles her uncle and Shorty were aiming directly at her. “There’s not a chance in hell I’m pouring you a drink until Gus allows it!”_ _

__“Knew I should have hired your sister,” Shorty mumbled with a smirk, and even though he was clearly joking, Curtis still smacked his arm._ _

__Waverly filled them a large glass of water each, waiting with a raised eyebrow until they both started drinking. “You would be lost without me working here, and don’t you forget it!”_ _

__Eventually, Gus did let the men have another drink. Only after they’d wolfed down their food though, and they did provide some well-deserved entertainment to Waverly during the last stretch of her shift._ _

__She was just clearing away the last glasses before she finished up when she was certain she’d heard Nicole’s voice, followed unmistakably by her laugh. Waverly stopped halfway through the door, just to take in the sight of Nicole standing there talking away with Curtis, Shorty and Gus with a wide smile on her face._ _

__Her hair was down, covering the bruise on the side of her forehead and a long-sleeve top was hiding the damage done to her arm the previous day. Even if Curtis hadn’t been drinking, he would probably not have even noticed that the woman standing next to him had very recently needed medical attention._ _

__An overwhelming yearning for the scene before her to become routine hit Waverly instantly. It wasn’t like anyone else she’d dated had _ever_ been favored by the most important people in her life._ _

__Only she wasn’t dating Nicole…_ _

__Which meant it was something she absolutely could not want, not when she’d decided that casual was something she could handle. It might not have been something she had ever done before, but with Nicole she simply couldn’t see another way._ _

__She’d never been so attracted to someone that it became an undeniable distraction, maybe it was simply the ever-growing sexual tension between them that was causing such intense desires for _more.__ _

__Once that tension was _released_ surely, she would no longer be caught off guard by a longing for moments she could never have._ _

__“Hi,” Somehow Nicole’s smile grew brighter as she noticed Waverly, and she faltered for a moment. A desperate need to kiss Nicole again took over her as she tried desperately not to sigh fondly. “I was just passing by, thought I’d stop in and say a quick hey.”_ _

__Nicole said it so convincingly that for a moment Waverly thought she’d actually forgotten about their plans. That was until Nicole winked far too quickly for anyone but Waverly to catch._ _

__“I’m actually just about to finish up,” Waverly pretended to be disappointed, forcing herself not to smile as Nicole nodded solemnly and knocked her knuckles against the wood of the bar._ _

__“Well, I’ll let you get home, then. Nice meeting you, Curtis, Shorty, Gus.” Nicole nodded to each of them, her politeness returned in kind before she turned for the exit._ _

__Waverly waited what she hoped was a subtle amount of time before announcing she was done for the evening. She kissed her Aunt and Uncle’s cheeks in goodbye and hugged Shorty before following after Nicole at a restrained pace._ _

__If Waverly wasn’t mistaken, Nicole looked nervous as she leaned up against her SUV parked across the street from Shorty’s, waiting for Waverly to reach her._ _

__“I thought it might be best if you left your car here…” Nicole grimaced, clearly worried that Waverly was going to think it rude._ _

__She wasn’t going to, in fact she’d been planning on walking over to the motel, following what she presumed was the same logic that Nicole was._ _

__“Yeah, bright red Jeep isn’t exactly covert, right?” Waverly smiled, hoping to quell any concerns Nicole had about how her suggestion might be received._ _

__“Right…you really don’t mind?”_ _

__“Not at all, now come on! Not exactly covert to be standing out here together either,” With a genuine laugh, Waverly made her way around to the passenger side._ _

__

__The silence was heavy between them on the short drive, anticipation, if Waverly had to guess. She was just relieved that it didn’t seem to be coming off of her exclusively…_ _

__It continued all the way to Nicole’s room, and it was a side of Nicole that Waverly had yet to see. She hovered a few steps in front of Waverly once they were securely inside, a nervous smile playing at her lips._ _

__“Jeremy has already told me his plans for tonight are exclusively mmorpg based…so we should be free from interruption all night...”_ _

__“All night, huh?” Waverly smirked, enjoying the way Nicole immediately flushed._ _

__She knew they needed to talk, set the ground rules for whatever this was before anything could happen…but a quick kiss couldn’t hurt, right?_ _

__As if Nicole could read her mind, they moved in sync; melding together in a deep kiss that had Waverly regretting her thinking immediately. Anything involving talking did not seem like a good use of their time right now._ _

__With a groan Nicole pulled back, “We really should talk…”_ _

__“Fine…” Waverly pecked Nicole’s lips once more before moving to sit on the bed that took up most of the room._ _

__It looked like Nicole was just taking in the sight of her for a moment before coming to join her, her hungry eyes betraying whatever calm she was trying to exude and suddenly Waverly’s nerves displaced her earlier bravado. “So, ground rules?”_ _

__They agreed to keep the arrangement to themselves. Not to let it get in the way of the mission, that was important to Waverly because above all else; this could not hurt her and Wynonna’s chances of ending the curse._ _

__They would stop anything that went beyond a professional relationship the moment it became an issue; this was purely to dispel the tension between them that was preventing them from concentrating on pretty much anything else when they were together. The admission from Nicole, that she wasn’t the only one struggling to focus, brought immense relief to Waverly._ _

__There was one rule that went unsaid, and honestly Waverly was thankful that neither of them had spoken it into existence; this would end when Nicole inevitably had to leave._ _

__“I think we’ve covered everything,” Waverly was growing impatient, Nicole was only looking more attractive the more she relaxed on the bed beside her._ _

__The moment Nicole nodded her head in agreement, Waverly moved to straddle her. A move that seemed to take Nicole by surprise, and truthfully, it had surprised Waverly too. The all-encompassing _need_ she felt whenever she was around Nicole now had an outlet, and she didn’t want to waste another second._ _

__It was clear Nicole was holding back, just like she had the night before, as she met Waverly’s lips with her own. Did she still not realise how badly Waverly wanted to feel her everywhere?_ _

__“Nicole,” Waverly pleaded, trusting that Nicole would understand what she wanted… _needed.__ _

__Before Waverly had time to appreciate how desperate she had just sounded, Nicole was urging her onto her back and settling an exquisite pressure between her thighs._ _

__“If you want us to stop at any time, all you have to do is say so,” Nicole said seriously, her mouth hovering just out of reach from Waverly’s._ _

__“I know.” Waverly grabbed Nicole’s face in her hands and pulled her back in; they had already squandered enough time._ _

__Waverly didn’t even try to restrain the moan that fell from her lips as Nicole gently rocked her hips, unbelievably glad that she hadn’t when it caused something within Nicole to _snap.__ _

__Their kisses became frantic and before Waverly could find herself begging for _more,_ Nicole reached for the button on Waverly’s pants._ _

__“Is this-”_ _

__“Yes!” Waverly cut Nicole’s question off; she was so worked up she wasn’t sure there was much she would say no to right now._ _

__Nicole’s wicked grin stretched against her lips and Waverly took a sharp intake of breath as nimble fingers slid down the front of her underwear. Nicole’s hand stilled, an unsteady gasp as she felt just how ready Waverly was for her._ _

__With a hand either side of Nicole’s face, Waverly waited for Nicole’s gaze to meet her own. She didn’t even need to verbalise her desperation once their eyes met. Nicole simply gave her a tiny nod before meeting her lips._ _

__Nicole’s fingers circled Waverly’s clit at a torturously slow pace, eyes focussed on Waverly’s reaction, before she repeated the action. The momentum built rapidly as Nicole swallowed each moan that Waverly let slip._ _

__Even though Waverly had been certain Nicole would have her undone in no time, she was still shocked at just how quickly she was gripping Nicole’s back for purchase as she climaxed._ _

__A surprised laugh tumbled from her lips as Nicole leaned down to kiss her because _holy shit._ She couldn’t remember why she’d been so against something casual before, not when that was the result._ _

__Nicole rolled some of the weight off of her, leaning heavily on her good arm as she slowly extracted her hand from Waverly’s underwear. Suddenly Waverly realised she hadn’t even considered Nicole might not be fit enough to do what they’d just done._ _

__“Your arm…” Waverly reached out a gentle hand, resting just below where she knew the dressing was hidden beneath Nicole’s shirt._ _

__“I’ll be fine,” Nicole shrugged, not leaving Waverly in the least bit convinced. “Besides, I feel like there’s still a little tension and I don’t need to use that arm for what I was thinking…”_ _

__Nicole smirked as she moved slowly down Waverly’s body, pulling her pants and underwear down as she went. Waverly felt like her chest might actually explode…if Nicole was that good with an injured arm, how in the hell was she supposed to survive what she knew Nicole was about to do next._ _

__“Nicole…” Waverly’s voice shook. She’d never been good at asking for what she wanted but the way Nicole was looking at her, it made her want to be brave._ _

__She sat up, quickly removed her shirt and bra, and threw them across the room as Nicole sat frozen between her legs. “Now you.”_ _

__“Yes, Ma’am.” Somehow Nicole grinned even wider, rushing to her feet to do exactly what Waverly had asked of her._ _

__With each inch of pale skin that became visible, Waverly’s heart thudded in her chest a little more insistently. She was pretty sure she was about to have the best night of her life._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	12. Shivers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The morning after...
> 
> I do hope everyone who is reading this fic is still enjoying it, I appreciate every single one of you :) 
> 
> Endless thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for beta-ing this!

Nicole woke from the first decent night’s sleep she’d had since she arrived in town, with Waverly’s arm across her bare stomach. She couldn’t help but brush her fingers gently along Waverly’s hand as she continued to sleep soundly, the most peaceful look on her face.

Part of her still insisted on wondering if the previous night had been such a good idea…well, obviously it had been a _good_ idea, but realistically…

The relentless thoughts of how it might feel to be with Waverly, touch her exactly how she’d been thinking about since the moment she saw her, were a little less all consuming. Still there, just not as overwhelming as before. The concerns though…they had definitely heightened in the clear light of day.

Mainly because Nicole’s very first thought when she woke up was how she could get used to this; waking up with Waverly’s body pressed against her and steady breaths tickling the crook of her neck.

She couldn’t. That was never going to be an option, and yet she really could…

Maybe they needed some more ground rules. Maybe staying over wasn’t something Waverly should be doing. It was supposed to be _casual._ Waking up together didn’t feel casual, and anything more could put the entire town at risk.

It was less about Black Badge not trusting their agents to maintain secrecy. Nicole was certain it had more to do with the number of times that information had been acquired from agents without them even realising it was happening. Dealing with all manner of supernatural creatures meant the potential to fall victim to all manner of abilities: spells, hypnosis, memory extraction.

Black Badge could not risk any sort of leak, and any form of personal relationship while on a mission only led to two things in their eyes: distraction and compromised agents. Whether those agents appeared to be aware of it or not.

She could not let what happened in Maldito happen here…she would never forgive herself.

Nicole knew her alarm would start going off any minute, the sun was already streaming brightly through the curtains. Even if they weren’t going Revenant hunting today, she knew she should still get up and write a report or two for Lucado, covering the last couple days.

Of course, she would be leaving out the almost-admission to the hospital, and the injuries she’d sustained. Which were starting to feel slightly better, the stitches were certainly not as itchy as they had been the day before, but there was a dull ache in her arm that had her smiling.

“Waves,” Nicole tried to wake her gently, fighting the urge to pepper kisses across her shoulders as she did so…that did not scream casual.

Waverly simply hummed in response, snuggling closer and tightening her arm around Nicole’s middle.

“I need to get up,” Nicole chuckled as she stroked Waverly’s arm before reluctantly pulling it off of her. She was beginning to feel far too comfortable lying there. “You can keep sleeping if you want.”

Waverly allowed herself to be rolled over as Nicole sat up, pulling the covers right up to her neck and letting out a long content sigh. She opened her eyes just as Nicole looked down at her from beside the bed.

“Good morning.” Waverly’s eyes travelled all the way up Nicole’s body, meeting her eyes with a smirk.

Nicole laughed, rolling her eyes playfully to distract them both from her burning desire to bend down and wake Waverly up properly. 

Remembering to turn off her alarm just in case Waverly did want to go back to sleep, Nicole got her things together and headed for the bathroom; an added sway to her hips that she just couldn’t help.

Nicole paused in front of the mirror once she’d wiped the condensation clear. She smiled as her fingers traced over the collection of markings she’d acquired the night before.

It had been Waverly that Nicole had been worried about, not sure if she would be able to handle casual, but after last night…maybe she needed to worry about herself.

She was bent over, towelling her hair, when she heard the faint knock at the door. _Shit._ Did Jeremy change his mind about grabbing breakfast together? She shouldn’t have tested the waters, it probably only put the idea into his head that Nicole actually _wanted_ to get breakfast.

Nicole could hear Waverly’s bare feet padding across the room as she reached for the handle of the bathroom door in a panic. The words she’d been about to speak died on her tongue as she flung the door open and saw Jeremy standing in the doorway.

His eyes bounced back and forth between Waverly, wrapped snug in the comforter, and Nicole standing in her sports bra and jeans.

“Shit,” Nicole cursed. That really hadn’t lasted long. “Jeremy, this does not leave this room.”

“But-”

“Jeremy. This does _not_ leave this room.”

“Right…uh,” Jeremey’s eyes widened as they fell on the bed and Nicole couldn’t handle any more.

“Goodbye, Jeremy.” Nicole rushed for the door, closing it before letting her head drop against it.

“I’m sorry, I thought it was just going to be housekeeping…I was going to ask them to come back later.”

“It’s okay…” Nicole sighed, how was Waverly to know?

“He won’t say anything though, right?” The panic in Waverly’s voice almost had Nicole panicking too, but she took a calming breath and reassured herself.

“He won’t say anything.” She was confident of that, or at least confident enough that Jeremy was too nice to hurt Nicole’s career over something like this.

Waverly’s hand landed on her shoulder and without a second thought, Nicole laid her own over it and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Nicole.”

“Waves…” Nicole turned, and again without any hesitation, pulled Waverly flush against her. She couldn’t handle the remorse in Waverly’s voice when there was really nothing for her to feel guilty about.

Nicole tipped Waverly’s chin up with a finger underneath, kissing her softly, slowly, the tension fading from both of them as their foreheads met. “You don’t need to apologise.”

“I should probably go though…” Waverly’s fingers worked their way into Nicole’s damp hair.

The action had Nicole closing her eyes, desperate to savor the feeling of blunt nails against her scalp while she could, because Waverly was probably right. Nicole really didn’t want her to go anywhere right now, which meant she needed to…

Despite the multiple warning bells going off inside her head, Nicole couldn’t stop herself from leaning in to kiss Waverly again. She wanted to stretch this feeling out for a little longer, not too long…or she knew she’d get drawn in completely.

With a playful groan, Waverly pulled away and went about grabbing all of her strewn clothing. “Are done in the bathroom?”

“Go ahead.” Nicole swallowed hard as Waverly unwrapped the comforter from around herself, handing it to Nicole before making her way to the en suite.

She had to know that Nicole was staring after her, her jaw a little slack. Waverly turned to grin widely at Nicole from the doorway, throwing a wink towards her before closing the door. 

With a smile and a shake of her head, Nicole straightened out the comforter back on the bed. Maybe the housekeeper would actually show up today, the motel hadn’t exactly been proving to be particularly reliable on that front.

By the time Waverly was out of the bathroom, thankfully fully clothed, Nicole had texted Jeremy asking him to meet her at their office. They needed to talk about what he had stumbled into that morning. 

“I can drop you at your car before I head to the station if you want?” Nicole offered, her eyes dipping to Waverly’s rear end as she bent over to put on her shoes.

“Sure, but I thought I’d come to the station too and finish off what I was doing when I had to rush to the hospital,”

“Oh…”

“And I was going to hang back at Shorty’s for a bit to make sure we didn’t arrive at the exact same time,” Waverly laughed softly, her hand coming to rest over Nicole’s heart.

“Right…” Nicole forced herself to relax from her swift panic. She knew she needed to ask Waverly something before she could fully calm herself though. “You’re still okay with this? The ground rules?”

“Yes, Nicole.” Waverly’s thumb gently brushed against Nicole’s sternum and once again, Nicole was struggling not to close her eyes and lose herself in the sensation. “And I know I can change my mind at any point, but I would definitely like a repeat of last night at some point.”

“Good…me too.” Nicole nodded, anxiously trying to sound appropriately excited but not _too_ excited. “Are you ready to go?”

“Almost.” Waverly smiled sweetly, her hand heavy over Nicole’s hammering heart.

She stretched up to kiss Nicole, chaste and quick, but since she had no idea when it would happen again, Nicole closed her eyes and deepened it just enough to make it memorable. “Now I’m ready.”

Nicole was done for…even if she wasn’t ready to fully admit it yet.

As promised, Waverly made sure to hang back at Shorty’s, which gave Nicole at least a little time to make sure Jeremy wasn’t freaking out completely. She’d already got him to bend the rules since they got here, she couldn’t exactly blame him if this had pushed it too far.

He seemed surprisingly calm when Nicole walked in, that was until he lifted his mug and Nicole could see his hand was shaking.

“Jeremy…”

He quickly held his trembling hands up in front of himself, “I won’t say anything, I promise!”

“I’m sorry I put you in that position,” Nicole sighed; she hadn’t expected to feel _this_ guilty. “But you know it wouldn’t do any good for anyone involved if Lucado found out.”

“I know that…so why did you let it happen?!”

“I didn’t think she was just going to answer a random knock at the door!”

“No!” Jeremy shook his head, his hands flapping in front of him. “Sleeping with her! I figured you had a _crush,_ but I didn’t think you would actually be stupid enough to act on it!”

Nicole knew she was being stupid…but that didn’t mean she had it in her to stop. Maybe she just needed to make not answering the door at the motel a new ground rule…

“It was a heat of the moment thing, okay? It won’t happen again, so you can unclench!”

Jeremy stared at her for a beat before visibly relaxing. “Good, you know Lucado scares the living shit out of me.”

“Me too,” Nicole muttered under her breath as she headed for her desk.

She hadn’t even managed to sit down before the Earp sisters were barrelling through the office door arguing about something. It didn’t take long for Nicole to figure out what it was.

“I’m just saying, it would have taken you two seconds to text me saying you weren’t coming home! I was worried!”

“I said I was sorry!” Waverly groaned; from the frustration in her voice it was clear she’d already apologised more than once.

“Where were you anyway?”

Across the room, Jeremy choked on his drink. He looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel but thankfully, Waverly didn’t appear affected by the question in the least.

“I met up with Chrissy, we ended up having a couple drinks, so I just slept in my old apartment. Unlike some people, _I_ don’t drink and drive.”

“Whatever, I’ve got _heir_ reflexes!”

“Still illegal!” Waverly sang over her shoulder as she crossed the room to pat Jeremy on the back.

He rasped out a “thank you”, avoiding everyone's eyes as he said hello to the Earp sisters.

Wynonna tipped an imaginary hat in his direction, “Jerry,”

“You know his name is Jeremy,” Waverly hissed at her sister.

They obviously needed a couple minutes to cool down from each other, especially if Wynonna was going to try and push Waverly any further on her whereabouts last night. Jeremy would likely not survive another choking episode.

Luckily, Nicole didn’t need to tell any more lies to split the sisters up for a moment or two, “Wynonna, Dolls was looking for you when I got here.”

Nicole did not expect the overdramatic groan that Wynonna answered with as she spun on her heel, heading back towards the bullpen.

“What the hell was that about?”

“She’s been avoiding him,” Waverly shrugged before sitting down next to Jeremy and pulling a stack of files towards her. “Apparently she accidentally used the ‘B’ word.”

“The ‘B’ word?” Jeremy queried when it was clear Waverly didn’t plan on expanding any further.

“Boyfriend,” Waverly laughed, the sound eliciting goose bumps over Nicole’s skin. She turned a wide smile to Jeremy as he joined in with her laughter.

Nicole knew she shouldn’t be feeling anything even remotely close to rejection because Waverly hadn’t shown her more than a passing glance since she’d walked in…but she couldn’t help it.

“Waverly, mind if we talk for a minute?” Nicole nodded her head back towards her office, this conversation was not happening in front of Jeremy. 

Nicole kept her shoulders stiff and professional, but Jeremy still gave her a suspicious eye. She could only roll her own as she closed the door between them once Waverly crossed the threshold.

“I think we need a new ground rule…” Nicole sighed; she really should have thought about it before. “If we end up doing this again, I don’t think you should spend the night. It’s too risky.”

“It does seem like we might actually give poor Jeremy a heart attack if he catches us again,”

“He _cannot_ catch us again,” Nicole forcefully shook her head; she couldn’t be caught lying to him again. “I told him it was a heat of the moment thing that absolutely will not be happening again.”

“I really am sorry about that…” Waverly perched herself on the edge of Nicole’s desk, her eyes downcast.

Nicole tried to fight it, she really did, but one look at Waverly’s face and she was closing the distance between them, tipping Waverly’s chin up with a finger underneath it. She held Waverly’s gaze, her throat tightening with the fierce need to kiss Waverly.

If Nicole had it anywhere in her to be smart about this, she would be telling Waverly that they simply couldn’t continue. She would tell her that last night had been _incredible_ but letting it happen again would only lead to complications that neither of them could handle.

“We just have to be more careful,” Nicole said instead; fully accepting that she did not have it in her to stop this. Waverly bit down on her bottom lip, her eyes dipping to Nicole’s, as she nodded slowly. 

Selfishly, Nicole hoped this was as hard for Waverly as it was for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you'll forgive me because I'm going to take a couple weeks off from posting. 
> 
> I'm not abandoning this fic, it's pretty much all written, I just need a little breathing room while work is totally kicking my ass so I can actually be happy with what I'm letting you read! 
> 
> If you want, you can follow me on Twitter [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> and I promise I will be back with chapter 13 soon!


	13. Without You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, longer than I thought it would be honestly, but now that work has calmed down a little I'm back :)  
> Unsurprisingly, the world is still a dumpster fire so I hope you can lose yourself in a new chapter for a little bit. 
> 
> It's been two long weeks since Waverly and Nicole's night together, will they finally manage to find another moment to be alone? 
> 
> As always, I'm eternally thankful for [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) being my beta!

Waverly knew it wasn’t intentional, Nicole clearly found their lack of any kind of alone time just as frustrating as she did. Since their conversation in Nicole’s office, Waverly hadn’t even had so much as a moment to enjoy Nicole’s eyes on her, before something got in the way.

She thought it was going to be at least a semi-regular arrangement and given the tension in Nicole’s jaw whenever Waverly saw her, she was pretty certain that Nicole thought so too.

Two weeks had never felt so frustratingly long.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, but relentless Revenant hunts and late shifts at Shorty’s with Wynonna tagging along were constantly getting in the way. Nicole even showed up to the bar a couple times, right before closing. She’d had a hopeful glint in her eye each time, until she saw Wynonna sitting at the bar, waiting for Waverly to finish up work.

Waverly usually managed to catch her attention before she made it too far inside, letting her know with a shake of her head that it wasn’t going to happen.

Tonight though, she’d been too preoccupied with a customer when Nicole had walked in. Wynonna was out of sight, in the bathroom until Nicole was practically leaning on the bar.

“Haught Sauce!” Wynonna noticed her mere seconds after Waverly, and she saw Nicole’s shoulders slump in realisation.

She couldn’t help but smile to herself; this _sucked_ , but knowing Nicole hated it just as much as she did made it ever so slightly easier.

“You finally decided my offer of a drink was a good idea!”

“Why else would I be here?” Nicole directed a sly smile towards Waverly, and had Wynonna been any more sober, she probably would have noticed.

“Game of pool before Waves here throws everybody out?” Wynonna asked, already making her way over to the table. Nicole rolled her eyes as she told Wynonna she’d be there in a minute.

“Hi.” Waverly slid a beer towards Nicole. She was going to need it if she was really going to play a game of pool with her sister.

“Hey,” Nicole sighed as she picked up her drink, surreptitiously checking to see where Wynonna’s attention was. Luckily, she was entirely focussed on racking up the balls on the table. “Are you driving her home again?”

“Yeah…Dolls is still working nights. I’m sorry,”

“Waves…” Nicole stealthily took Waverly’s hand in her own, caressing it gently before severing the hold. “You don’t need to apologise. It’s not like we agreed we would definitely…again…” 

“I know…” Waverly huffed out a frustrated sigh. It had certainly been implied, but they hadn’t said it absolutely would. “I’m working the early shift tomorrow…maybe we could-”

“Come on, Haught-Stuff!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Nicole yelled back to Wynonna, leaning closer to Waverly for just a second. “Tomorrow should work.”

“Great.” Waverly bit down hard on her bottom lip, resisting the urge to drag Nicole across the bar and kiss her. “No go beat my sister’s ass within the next fifteen minutes so I can close up on time.”

Waverly watched completely unabashed as Nicole bent over the table, shot after shot. It was actually a close game and for once, Wynonna didn’t seem to be cheating. She had to truly like Nicole.

The rest of the patrons slowly filtered out until it was only the three of them left and Waverly let them finish up their game while she tidied and got the bar set up how she liked it for the following day. Nicole would have probably been a good help, but if she’d asked her sister it would have undoubtedly taken her twice as long to get everything done.

When she just had the trash left to take out, she told them both she would just be a minute out back and then the doors were being locked, whether or not they were on the other side of them.

Waverly turned back from the dumpster to find Nicole leaning casually in the doorway, a look in her eye that burned Waverly from the inside out.

“Everything okay in there?” Waverly swallowed hard, there could be any number of reasons why Nicole had followed her out back…even if Waverly wanted there to only be one.

“Yeah. I just…” Nicole trailed off as she took a step forward, and then another until she had Waverly’s face in her hands and their lips were meeting in a bruising kiss that was over far too quickly. “I needed a little something to tide me over until tomorrow.”

Waverly just knew a dopey smile had taken over her lips. With her eyes still closed, she reached blindly for one more kiss. That might have been enough to tide Nicole over, but it wasn’t enough for Waverly.

It didn’t last as long as she wanted it to, Nicole gently urging her back. “Wynonna’s going to come looking…”

“Yeah, alright…” Waverly sighed remorsefully; Nicole was probably right. “Tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow,” Nicole confirmed, her ravenous eyes betraying her apparent self-control.

*** 

For the first time since she’d woken up with Waverly in her bed, Nicole felt content. She was finally going to have Waverly all alone again and she couldn’t wait.

Nicole was so ready to get through the hours until she’d be able to see Waverly that she was waiting by her car a whole twenty minutes before Jeremy left his room. Of course, she didn’t tell him that as they made their way towards the station.

“Do you want to grab something to eat before we head in?” Jeremy asked as Nicole parked outside the station. Mercifully, he obviously had no clue that Nicole didn’t want a single thing to delay the work she needed to do today. 

“I’ve got a report I need to finish before me and Wynonna head out.” Nicole reached into her pocket to pull out a twenty. “Why don’t you get us both something and meet me at the office? It’s on me.”

“Cappuccino to go with it?”

“Of course.” Nicole smiled graciously and Jeremy crossed the street to head to the singular decent coffee shop in Purgatory. 

Nicole’s smile didn’t leave her as she breezed through the station, in far too good a mood to be bothered by the strange looks she got from officers as she wished them a pleasant morning.

To be fair to them, she hadn’t exactly been particularly friendly since she got to town.

With a frown she walked through the slightly ajar door to the temporary Black Badge offices; she knew she had locked up the night before…had Nedley finally decided to go snooping?

Nicole stopped dead two steps into the room, her blood running ice cold. “L-Lucado…what-what are you doing here?”

“I hardly think that’s an appropriate way for you to greet your superior, Agent Haught.”

“Sorry I-” Nicole straightened her posture, squared her shoulders and tried not to look quite so much like she’d just been caught red handed. “I just wasn’t expecting you.”

“Well, I had to see first-hand how you were handling the Earps.”

“You-what?”

Lucado raised an eyebrow in Nicole’s direction as she wandered over to one of the numerous notice boards set up around the office. “If you had wanted to keep this under wraps, you really shouldn’t have uploaded photos of the youngest Earp’s research to your laptop.”

“How did you know whose research it was?” Nicole knew it was useless to deny what Lucado clearly already knew, but it was still tempting.

She’d uploaded the photos, making sure to steer clear of the BBD network storage, to allow her to continue working whenever she couldn’t sleep at night, thinking it would be enough to delete them before she got back to headquarters.

Her mind quickly went over every text conversation that she and Waverly had had since Nicole had given out her number. If Black Badge could see whatever was on her laptop, there was no doubt that they could do the same to her phone.

“Did you _really_ think that we had no idea what was going on in this town?” Lucado almost looked amused, like all of this had been some kind of test that Nicole had spectacularly failed.

It did seem strange that something of this magnitude had managed to fly under the radar for so long, Nicole had thought so since the moment she fully comprehended what was happening in Purgatory.

“We expected you to find the Earp heir eventually, and report back on how she was handling this iteration of the curse so we could update our records accordingly. I hadn’t quite appreciated just how far along they were until I saw your photos.” Lucado’s finger landed on the list of Revenants that had been steadily reducing, it had definitely been in one of the photos that Nicole had taken.

Nicole could feel her jaw tightening against all of the heated retorts she had for her boss; why had they not simply told her the plan from the start? Had they known she was lying all along? Why even bother playing along? 

“Well, I did find her…and her sister, but they only agreed to work with me if I kept their involvement hidden.” Nicole felt like an idiot now that she knew Black Badge had known about Waverly and Wynonna all along. “I thought it was worth the risk considering how essential the heir is to ending the curse.”

Lucado looked like she was more than ready to make Nicole _disappear_ and she didn’t even know everything. “You’re right, she is essential. Which is the only reason why you are not currently on your way to a black site, with a bag over your head right now. If it was entirely up to me, you would be.”

Nicole swallowed hard, nodding dutifully to let Lucado know how seriously she was taking her. _Shit._ She wasn’t the only one that Lucado had authority over. “Agent Chetri…he was only following my orders.”

“I assumed. He’s exceptionally bright, but I never took him for a traitor.” Lucado met Nicole’s eyes, her insinuation perfectly clear. “Well, since I’m here. I’d like to meet them.”

“Meet who?”

“The Earp sisters.”

“Ma’am, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to continue the arrangement I have with them once they know what Black Badge knows about them.” Nicole wasn’t sure who she was trying to protect more, the Earps from Black Badge or herself from Wynonna and Waverly’s wrath.

“They no longer have the option,” Lucado stated fiercely, turning to level Nicole with a glare as she crossed her arms over her chest. “This curse and these demons have been ravaging this area for over a century, and finally we have an Earp heir capable of ending it. Nothing can be left to chance.”

Nicole hadn’t thought she had been leaving anything to chance, she thought her being there, helping Wynonna, was enough to guarantee she was able to break the curse. Black Badge had known exactly what she was walking into here; it was clear they thought she was enough to report back on the curse but evidently, she wasn’t enough to aid Wynonna in ending it.

“What are you doing just standing there? Go and get the Earps!” Lucado announced like it should have been completely obviously she had meant _right now._ Maybe it had been Lucado alone who had decided Nicole couldn’t handle this…

Holding back everything she _wanted_ to say but knew she couldn’t, Nicole turned on her heel to bring Lucado what she wanted. She didn’t even know where Wynonna was, Waverly would probably be getting Shorty’s ready to open. Nicole could only hope that Wynonna had come into town with her sister and was bothering her before making her to the station.

The only thing that could make this situation any worse was if Wynonna walked into it without even the slightest bit of warning.

Eyes glued to her phone and the text she was composing, Nicole walked right into Jeremy’s back as he struggled to get into the building with their breakfast in his arms. She managed to catch the bag that fell from his hand before it hit the ground.

“Jeremy, I want you to be honest with me right now.”

“Um…okay?” Jeremy’s eyes widened in alarm as he tried to maintain the balance of everything he was holding.

Nicole really hoped she hadn’t been wrong about him.

“Did you know that Lucado was coming here?” Nicole tried to control her anger; she wasn’t angry with _him._ Not yet anyway…his answer would decide.

“What?! No, of course not. She’s-she’s really here?”

“Yes.” Nicole pinched the bridge of her nose, she believed Jeremy but that didn’t change how fucked she was. “Just go in there and play nice, okay? She knows about the Earps.”

“Oh no, that can’t be good.”

“I know…I’m about to bring them in now, just try and keep her calm.”

“I’ll do my best.” Jeremy gave her a pained smile, clearly not confident in his ability to handle her alone. Nicole promised she would be back as quickly as she could.

Luck was on Nicole’s side, at least partially. Wynonna was hanging around Shorty’s, bugging her sister before she planned to come see Nicole. Nicole took a deep breath before making her way into the bar; at least if the Earps made a scene, the place wasn’t open yet for there to be spectators. 

The sisters turned to her expectantly as she walked in, no doubt desperate to know why she was so adamant that she met them as soon as humanly possible. She figured it was like a Band-Aid, it wasn’t like gently breaking the news Lucado was in town would make the situation any better.

“My boss, Agent Lucado, is here in Purgatory…and she wants to meet you. Both of you.”

Wynonna’s eyes narrowed dangerously; if she’d had a glass in her hand, Nicole would have put money on it being launched in her direction. “You told her about us?”

“No, I…Black Badge already knew about you.” Nicole didn’t tear her eyes away from Wynonna, she couldn’t look at Waverly right now. Not when their plans were never going to happen with Lucado in town. “They know a lot more about Purgatory than I was led to believe.”

Nicole tried to conceal just how much that was pissing her off; she had been sent here, alone, and expected to deal with this? No…they _knew_ she would find the Earps and find out about the curse.

Why didn’t they just tell her? Was this all just some test? Some way to determine if she was really worth of working for Black Badge? Had the last five years of her life, years that she had given to _them,_ meant nothing?

“They already knew about the curse…and us.” Waverly mused aloud.

Nicole finally looked her in the eye as she answered with a nod, sighing at the realisation she saw in Waverly’s eyes. Whatever plans they had for that night would not be happening now.

Waverly quickly shook the glazed look from her eyes, “So, why is she here now?”

“I took pictures of your research, uploaded them onto my laptop…I thought it was sec-” With a deep breath Nicole managed to control the anger rising up inside her. “Anyway, Lucado saw the pictures and she wants to meet you.”

“And if we refuse?” Waverly’s tenacity almost coaxed a smile from Nicole, but she reined it in; it wasn’t the time nor the place.

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Nicole hated to admit it but Lucado actually did scare her. It was one thing keeping things from Lucado when she wasn’t around, but saying no directly to her face? That was a very unappealing thought. “Look, I’m just here to give you some warning. This is happening, whether you or I like it or not.”

“When?” Wynonna finally chimed in, far less hostility than Nicole was expecting.

“As soon as possible. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we know where we stand.” Nicole was mostly referring to the Earp’s conditions of working with Black Badge, but she couldn’t help but catch Waverly’s eye.

Maybe Lucado would leave again after seeing that the three of them and Jeremy had the situation well in hand…

Waverly finally joined them on the sidewalk, after she had locked up the bar and asked Gus _very_ nicely if she could head over to work the opening, and they made their way to the station. A tense silence hung awkwardly between them. Could they tell just how angry Nicole was at this whole situation?

Not just that she and Waverly’s plans would have to wait; she had _promised_ them…a promise that was already broken before it had even been made. She knew that Black Badge lied to everyone else, that was par for the course considering the general public couldn’t know the truth about what they did, but she thought that was where the lies stopped.

She was part of the organisation. She _knew_ this world existed, that people needed to be protected from it…was she not trusted? Valued? What else hadn’t they told her?

“Before we go in there.” Nicole pulled the Earp sisters to a halt outside the doors to the station, needing to get the words out before they ate her alive. “I just want to say I’m sorry. I had no idea-”

“We know, Haught-stuff.” Wynonna slapped her on the shoulder as she passed her by and into the building, followed quickly by Waverly. They both seemed far more calm about this than Nicole.

Without any ado whatsoever, Wynonna strode into the back office and plopped herself down in a chair facing Lucado. Lucado’s eyes lifted from her laptop screen, peering over her reading glasses to look at her visitors.

“The Earp heir, I presume?”

“The one and only.” Wynonna spread her arms wide before taking a small bow from her seated position.

The corner of Nicole’s mouth lifted in a small smile, she saw a similar reaction from Jeremy on the other side of the room, however Lucado seemed anything but impressed by Wynonna’s cocky demeanor. She simply dove right into informing them all of just how much Black Badge knew about the demon problem in Purgatory.

Since Black Badge’s inception, they had kept a close eye on the curse and whichever Earp was currently the heir. It had been Lucado’s idea to send an agent to Purgatory, to collect evidence up close and, if possible, step in to assist in finally bringing it to an end.

When Lucado’s eyes landed squarely on Waverly, Nicole had to resist the urge to take a protective step in front of her. Instead she watched on as Lucado stood and held eye contact with the youngest Earp before telling her how impressed she was with Waverly’s research.

It wasn’t quite a smile but Lucado’s expression did soften ever so slightly as Waverly replied with a quiet thanks. Lucado turned on her heel to begin pacing in front of them, something Nicole noticed she did right before asserting her authority, so at least she was slightly prepared for what came next.

Nicole, while still technically leading the investigation would have to report everything directly to Lucado, all missions were also to be authorised by Lucado to confirm they ran the lowest risk of exposure to the general population. Waverly and Wynonna, while not officially BBD agents, would be held just as accountable for the duration.

“Now, what do you know about the club Ba-Ding Ba-Ding?”

Wynonna scoffed, “I know they have a bullshit policy for people who _accidentally_ break their ‘no puking on the bar rule’ one time!”

“What?” Lucado simply stared at her in disbelief.

“Wynonna is banned. For life.” Waverly smirked, and Nicole couldn’t help but laugh before Lucado’s glare was trained on her and she swiftly quieted down.

“Well, that would explain it then,” Lucado sighed heavily. “Our intel states that the club was recently purchased by one of these…demons.”

“Revenants,” Waverly corrected gently.

“Okay, it was purchased by one of the _Revenants._ I was actually surprised not to see it in your most recent research.”

That was a compliment if ever Lucado gave one, and Waverly seemed to recognise it as such. Her shoulders got a little higher, her back straighter.

“When was the last time you were there?”

“A few months ago,” Wynonna mumbled. This was seemingly news to Waverly, who gently slapped her sister’s arm. “I didn’t get in!”

“No surprises there!” Waverly rolled her eyes as Lucado let out another heavy sigh. Nicole wondered if she would have to let Lucado know that she would be doing a lot of that in Purgatory.

“Let’s hope you have more luck now it’s under new management.”

“What?” Nicole swooped in; she thought _she_ was still leading this mission. She thought she only needed Lucado to sign off on _her_ plans. She should have known better. “We’re going in there?”

“Wasn’t that obvious?” Lucado raised an eyebrow in her direction and she couldn’t help but shrink. She was being bulldozed and humiliated to boot. “Now, someone please tell me there is at least one place in this godforsaken town that sells decent coffee!”

“Yes,” Waverly piped up immediately. “There’s-”

“Great,” Lucado cut her off as she sat back down in front of her laptop. “Black. No sugar.”

“I’ll come with you…” Nicole got out between gritted teeth.

She did want to speak with Waverly in private, she also just didn’t want to be there right now. Lucado clearly had her own plan here so what was the point in Nicole even being there? 

When Lucado didn’t argue with Nicole’s suggestion to accompany Waverly, she knew she was right. Nicole was now nothing more than a spare part in Lucado’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope my break didn't ruin your enjoyment of the story! 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	14. More Alive Than Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week, Waverly gets a chance to prove herself as part of Black Badge and finally has some time with Nicole...although it wasn't exactly what they had planned. 
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for being my beta!

“So…Lucado’s pretty intense…” Waverly tentatively voiced her thoughts. The short walk to the coffee shop had passed by in silence and truthfully, it was starting to feel a little awkward.

Nicole simply hummed in what Waverly had to assume was a half-hearted agreement, she hadn’t uttered a word except to order their coffees.

“I guess this means we can’t…again?”

“Yeah…” Nicole agreed, somehow even less enthused and although Waverly already knew her assumption had been correct, getting the confirmation made her chest ache in a way she hadn’t anticipated.

Their eyes met and all Waverly could think of was how she would have kissed Nicole harder the night before if she’d known it would be the last time. Nicole sighed, almost as if she was thinking the exact same thing. Her lips parted, but their order was called before she could say whatever she was going to.

Waverly called after Nicole, she’d picked up the coffees and turned to leave in the short moment that Waverly had allowed herself to imagine what Nicole might have been about to say.

Nicole slowed down enough for Waverly to catch up, although she kept her eyes focused firmly on the police station across the street.

“I’m glad we managed to at least have that night. I…I’m sure it was obvious, but I had an amazing time with you.” Waverly couldn’t not say anything about the night they had spent together, not when it wouldn’t be happening again.

“Yeah…” Nicole stopped walking with a sigh; she smiled sadly down at Waverly and readjusted the coffee carrier into one hand so she could reach up and tuck a stray hair behind her ear. “Me too,”

The squeeze in Waverly’s chest made her wince. Realistically she knew that she and Nicole could never be _more_ but that night had been so much better than she thought it could be. The soft look in Nicole’s eyes told her that maybe, just maybe, it had been the same for her.

She attempted to smile up at Nicole through the stab of pain, although she was sure it faltered when Nicole suggested they get back to the station with an equally pained smile.

Lucado didn’t even take a full sip of her coffee before ordering Nicole and Wynonna to head over to _Ba-ding Ba-ding_ to do some reconnaissance, without so much as a thank you to either of them for getting her the drink.

Waverly wasn’t at all convinced that Wynonna would be able to even get into the club; if the new Revenant owner didn’t already know who Wynonna was thanks to their last name, they would have to have seen the horribly unflattering polaroid taped behind the bar.

She wasn’t about to voice that thought to Lucado though, not when Lucado had just asked her to help create a realistic timeline for taking out the rest of the Revenants. Waverly was sure she had never been so intimidated by someone, while simultaneously being desperate to impress them before.

There would be no more breaks, not a single day was to be wasted. Lucado didn’t want to be in town a second longer than she had to be, and Waverly couldn’t help but wonder why she felt the need to stay at all. Did she not trust Nicole to oversee Wynonna’s efforts?

“The sooner we end this curse, the better. For everyone!” Lucado stated firmly as she looked over to Waverly, diligently working away.

Waverly just hoped that her expression didn’t give away her thoughts. Of course, she wanted the curse to be broken but as soon as it was…Nicole would be gone. Maybe if Waverly told herself that was what was always going to happen enough times, it might not hurt so much.

“There’s only one hiccup with me trying to come up with this timeline.” Waverly tried to keep her voice steady, it wasn’t like she’d done this on purpose. “I still don’t have a clue where one of the Revenants has been for the last...sixty years or so, and I haven’t got a single lead on him.”

If Lucado really planned to spend all this time focusing on taking out the rest, then they needed to figure out where the elusive Lou had been hiding all this time. Wynonna never listened when she asked her to get information out of the Revenants before shooting them. She was so convinced that not a single one would ever sell out another, that she wouldn’t even try it.

Maybe with three Black Badge agents on her side, Waverly might be able to convince Wynonna that it was at least worth trying.

“All traces of him disappeared years ago, I’m lucky that I even found a photograph to know what he looks like!”

“And where is it?” Lucado raised an eyebrow in her direction before scanning across each of the boards in the room.

Waverly blushed, she probably shouldn’t have mentioned the photograph. “I um…lost it?”

Lucado rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath, but there was no use throwing Wynonna under the bus. It had been foolish of Waverly to keep only one copy of the photo anyway, especially when Wynonna had a penchant for spilling drinks. She’d learned after that incident to photocopy _everything._

“Maybe some of the others know something about him, we could question them before Wynonna has to shoot them?”

“It’s unlikely they would be willing to trade information when they know the only thing we could possibly want from them is their, ah...departure…but sure, it’s at least worth a try.” Lucado nodded towards Waverly with a look that didn’t seem overly displeased. “I’ll discuss with Agent Haught once she returns.”

Waverly couldn’t help the proud smile that graced her lips, and the way Jeremy winked over to her only made it grow wider. She could get used to having an idea actually contemplated instead of shot down immediately.

*** 

Nicole really didn’t like Lucado’s plan. Well, revised plan, once it became abundantly clear that Wynonna was not going to get beyond the doorman at the club, despite the new ownership.

Waverly had jumped at the chance to go undercover with Nicole, but Nicole couldn’t help but feel that she didn’t know nearly enough about the place, or the Revenant who was its new owner, to keep Waverly safe.

The goal seemed relatively simple: get eyes on the Revenant, surveil him, and figure out a way for Wynonna to take him out. The tricky part would be getting him out of the club, since according to Lucado’s intel, he’d rarely left the premises since he’d purchased it.

Nicole was starting to think that his purchasing a place that the Earp heir couldn’t enter was not a coincidence. If she forced her way inside or if there was any attempt to get him outside against his will, it would draw far too much attention.

Wynonna might not always check her surroundings, but she was smarter than causing _that_ much of a commotion.

The clothing they were wearing just wouldn’t do if they were going to try blending in, the people Nicole had seen coming and going from the club were dressed to the nines. Nicole told Lucado as much and she agreed that the pair needed to change, not that Nicole needed her permission to do so…

As she got herself into something more suitable for an evening out, Nicole tried not to let the hostility she was feeling towards her superior get the better of her. She needed to be focussed; she’d never forgive herself if something happened to Waverly under her watch, and she was absolutely positive that Wynonna would offer up a fate worse than death.

All thoughts except one vanished from her mind when she walked back into the Black Badge office to find Waverly in her chosen outfit: Waverly Earp was a _vision._

While it didn’t seem like anyone else in the room was paying them much mind, Nicole fought against every urge to voice the thought aloud. The way Waverly’s eyes travelled the length of Nicole as she moved further into the room though, and the faint smirk pulling at her lips, it seemed like Waverly was having a very similar problem.

Why couldn’t Lucado have waited just one more day before coming to Purgatory?

Jeremy cleared his throat beside her, pulling her from her daydream of what tonight could have brought. She accepted the small plastic box he was holding out for her without making eye contact.

“Here.” Nicole opened the box as she closed the distance between herself and Waverly. She pulled out the nearly undetectable earpiece before tucking Waverly’s hair behind her ear. “This way we can stay in touch with each other if we get separated…and Lucado throughout the mission.”

Waverly nodded, her breath hitching almost imperceptibly as Nicole put the earpiece in place. Nicole couldn’t help but let her fingers linger against the shell of Waverly’s ear for just a moment before moving Waverly’s hair to cover it.

There were words desperate to pour from her lips and Nicole had no doubt it was only going to get harder the longer she had to look at Waverly looking like _that._ Lucado would be listening to everything though…Nicole would just have to control herself.

  
The interior of Ba-Ding Ba-Ding was not at all what Nicole expected.

Sure, the people she’d seen going in and out earlier looked pretty classy, but this place was being run by a _Revenant._ She didn’t expect it to look so _nice_ inside.

There was a band playing, something jazzy and smooth that had couples swaying together slowly on the small dancefloor. It almost felt like they’d stepped back in time, and while it wasn’t exactly Nicole’s kind of place, Waverly looked like she was in heaven.

“Do you want a drink?”

“Are we allowed?” Waverly tore her eyes away from the band for a brief moment and Nicole shrugged.

It was mainly for appearances, but she also wasn’t going to refuse herself the opportunity to have a beer after today.

“Sure, just whatever you’re having.” Waverly’s eyes were back focussed squarely on the stage; Nicole couldn’t help but smile at the obvious enjoyment as she went to get their drinks.

Nicole spotted a familiar face, one that she had looked at countless times since she’d come to Purgatory. The picture Waverly had added to her research was grainy and a little old, but it was unquestionably the same face. The way he was sitting, eyes constantly scanning the room from his seat at the bar, he had to be the owner.

He didn’t look like a demon…but she supposed they didn’t always. His eyes landed on Nicole, not even trying to hide the fact he was obviously checking her out and Nicole suppressed an eyeroll. Ordinarily that would make her feel gross, but knowing exactly what he was made it even worse.

She distracted herself by ordering their drinks, trying not to draw attention to how uncomfortable his gaze made her feel. Although it only became harder when she noticed his eyes were still fixed on her as she made her way back to Waverly.

Waverly didn’t break the rapt concentration she had on the band, even as she took the drink Nicole had bought for her. That wasn’t going to be conducive to their mission, but Nicole would allow her to enjoy herself for a few more seconds before spoiling her fun. She used the time to check if she was still being observed…she was, and it certainly wasn’t with a suspicious eye.

“The owner is watching me…” Nicole leaned in close to speak with Waverly, who turned her head but swiftly looked back at the band, eyes wide. “What?”

“He’s coming over here.” Waverly whispered quickly, hopefully quiet enough for him not to hear.

“Hi,”

Nicole turned towards the voice, trying to look anything except horrified at what this development was going to mean for their game plan. She was going to have to flirt with him…maybe even try to convince him to leave with her.

She got her game face on. “Hi.”

“Hello,” Waverly added, before sliding her arm around Nicole’s waist in a manner far beyond friendly.

_What the hell was she doing?_

“I was going to ask if you wanted to join me for a drink…but I can see that you’re otherwise occupied.”

Nicole looked down at Waverly, who was staring daggers at the man, her arm tightening around Nicole’s waist.

“I am.” Nicole laid her hand over Waverly’s at her side, partly to sell the act that Waverly had dragged her into and partly to get her to stop digging so damn hard into her skin.

“Well, enjoy your night ladies.” He raised his glass to the both of them, a smirk on his face that was starting to make Nicole particularly uncomfortable.

“We will,” Waverly replied with a sickly-sweet smile.

The owner retreated back to his spot at the bar, a close eye on them the whole way until his attention turned to the bartender. Nicole waited until he was engrossed in getting a refill for his nearly empty glass before uttering a word.

“What the hell was that?” Nicole hissed, too angry to hide her irritation.

Waverly frowned, “He was about to hit on you…and he’s dangerous!”

“Yes, and we could have used that to our advantage!” Nicole schooled the frustration she knew was all over her face, he could look back over at any second.

“Shit…I just thought-”

“How about you just let me lead?” Nicole cut her off, more sharply than she intended and instantly felt bad. Waverly wasn’t used to these circumstances; she hadn’t trained for this.

Lucado’s voice sounded in both of their ears, breaking the tension in an instant. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” they replied at the same time.

“One of you want to tell me what just happened?” Lucado wasn’t really asking and Nicole sighed as she faced the band, attempting to look at least somewhat like someone having an enjoyable evening.

“The owner thinks we are here… _together.”_ Nicole caught Waverly’s flinch out of the corner of her eye and her stomach sank. She shouldn’t have snapped at her, and right now with Lucado in their ears she couldn’t apologise the way she wanted to.

“Okay…well, make it work.”

With a few deep breaths, Nicole considered their options. They could have a full-on fight right in the middle of the club and Nicole could go to him. Although, that would likely draw far too much attention and if the goal was still to get him out of there without anyone really noticing, that was not going to work.

The only option that seemed practical now was to continue on the path Waverly had set them on, let him think they were there on a date and keep her eyes peeled for another opening.

“Dance with me?” With an outstretched hand and an apology in her eyes, Nicole turned to Waverly. If this was supposed to look like a date, they needed to start acting like it.

Waverly gingerly took her proffered hand and followed her onto the small dance floor with what appeared to be genuine nerves. Nicole couldn’t help but laugh, they’d seen each other naked and now Waverly was nervous to simply dance with her?

Nicole’s hands found Waverly’s waist, pulling her close to begin a slow sway to the music. Despite the fact this place was owned by a demon, the atmosphere was warm, and Nicole had to admit the music was actually quite pleasant.

“What are you laughing at?” Waverly’s blush cut right through her indignant tone.

Nicole smirked, pulling Waverly even closer until she was flush against her. “Nervous?”

There was so much more she wanted to say but she couldn’t, not with Lucado listening in.

“Shut up!” Waverly’s features relaxed into a smile as she laughed.

It was clear she wanted to say more too, and she quickly pointed to her hidden earpiece to prove it. With her smirk still firmly in place, Nicole winked, and Waverly groaned as she dropped her head to Nicole’s shoulder.

“He’s still watching you.” Waverly leaned up to whisper in her ear, goosebumps erupting across Nicole’s skin as soft lips brushed against the shell of her ear. “Gross. I think he’s _more_ into you now.”

Slowly, Nicole turned them so she could see what Waverly meant and sure enough, it appeared that she was right. A shiver creeped up Nicole’s spine as she realised their best course of action.

“I have a plan…” Nicole whispered, turning them once again so the owner was unable to see her face. “Feel free to say no.”

“Why would I say no?”

“What’s your plan, Haught?” Lucado piped up in their ears and Nicole swallowed the sick feeling in her stomach down before saying it out loud.

“He’s watching us dancing right now…and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be that hard to get him even more interested.” Nicole sighed, she really hoped that Waverly knew she wouldn’t suggest this if she thought they had an easier option. “I can’t believe I’m actually saying this but if we were to make him think we wanted him to… _join us,_ he’ll likely be too distracted to consider the possibility that we’re about to get him sent back to hell.”

“You want us to…oh.” Realisation dawned on Waverly’s face, but it wasn’t giving anything away, and Nicole really did not want to force her into anything she wasn’t comfortable with.

“Like I said, feel free to say-”

“No!” Lucado barked in their ears. “It’s a good plan, follow Haught.”

“Let’s do it.” Waverly nodded once before taking Nicole’s face in her hands and kissing her hard.

They kept dancing as one band finished up and another took to the stage, only ordering enough drinks to blend in and not arouse suspicion. With every kiss they shared to sell their act, Nicole nearly forgot what they were trying to do. 

“Do you have his attention yet?” Lucado’s irritated voice had them both pulling back, a little flushed and Nicole scrambled to make her mouth do anything other than kiss Waverly again.

They had the attention of quite a few slimy looking guys around the place, and thankfully the one that they really wanted. “Uh, yeah…”

“Good. Now get him out of there.”

“Follow my lead,” Waverly suddenly seemed to have a surge of confidence, although she shrunk a little at Nicole’s raised eyebrow. “Please?”

Nicole smiled, “Okay.”

Waverly pulled away from their swaying and held out a hand for Nicole to take. She led them towards the bar, close to where the owner was sitting, keeping what he probably thought was a surreptitious eye on them.

“I’ll settle the tab, don’t take too long,” Waverly spoke loud enough for everyone in their immediate radius to hear. Her eyes darted quickly to where Nicole knew the bathrooms were located.

The idea of leaving Waverly alone was not something Nicole was happy with…at least they had their earpieces. If something did manage to go terribly wrong in the time it took her to fake a trip to the toilet, she would know.

“I’ll be quick, then we can get out of here.” Nicole pulled Waverly in for an undeniably over the top kiss.

While it was simply supposed to be for show, it still managed to stir something within her. She wished they really could just get out of there, do exactly what they had planned to do tonight.

The moment Nicole was out of earshot, the owner piped up and Waverly played her part perfectly. Over the earpiece Nicole could hear her playfully teasing him for hitting on Nicole, telling him that she couldn’t exactly blame him when she knew how good Nicole looked.

“She’s not the only one who looks good.”

Nicole shivered at the mental image of his eyes trailing over Waverly, hoping desperately that Waverly had managed to keep her features schooled. This was exactly what they needed. She was about to remind Waverly that she needed to keep him engaged when she spoke, thanking him for his comment.

“Well, that is refreshing!” The owner laughed, “Most women these days, they don’t know how to take a compliment.”

Nicole held her breath, no clue how Waverly was going to respond to _that._

“You’re right, it’s a damn shame. You know…maybe you’d like to have a drink with us?” Waverly threw out the bait, maybe a little too early, but without seeing his face, Nicole just couldn’t tell.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“We are…plenty to drink back at my place though.”

It had been long enough, Nicole decided, and she made her way back out into the main area of the club just as the owner latched onto Waverly’s suggestion.

“That sounds like an excellent idea…will your girlfriend be okay with that?”

“Will I be okay with what?” Nicole feigned her most genuine smile as she threw her arm over Waverly’s shoulder.

“I invited-” Waverly prompted him for his name.

“Jonas,”

“I invited Jonas here, to come for a night cap.” Waverly turned a mischievous grin towards Nicole, entirely for Jonas’ benefit.

“The more, the merrier.” Nicole’s hold tightened as he looked the pair up and down, wetting his lips in anticipation.

“You two ladies might just be my new favourite people!” Jonas slung back the rest of the drink sitting at his fingertips and rose from his stool, gesturing eagerly for them to lead the way.

Lucado was immediately barking orders to Wynonna in their ears, instructing her to be ready because Jonas was following them, like a lamb to slaughter, right out into the parking lot.

The nervous energy coming off Waverly was palpable as they made their way towards Nicole’s SUV and the van parked next to it with Wynonna and Lucado hiding inside. It took everything in Nicole not to comfort her, for fear that Jonas would know something was off.

Nicole held the rear door open for Jonas, just as Wynonna slid open the door to the van and didn’t even bother to get out. He was trapped and he knew it, but without any preamble at all, Wynonna shot him, and Nicole leapt back from the ensuing gateway to hell. So much for getting information out of him…

“Sorry.” Wynonna shrugged, like she knew exactly what Nicole was thinking. “I couldn’t wait another second to shoot that creep.”

Nicole looked around the parking lot with a sigh, making sure that no one had seen what had just transpired. Wynonna really needed to get better at that…but at least it wasn’t like there was a demon body to get rid of once the ordeal was over.

Lucado started the engine before Wynonna even had a chance to close the sliding door. “Reconvene back at the station.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm about 99% sure that I'll be sticking to my weekly uploads but life is rough just now friends (for everyone), so I may take the odd week off before drawing this fic to a close. 
> 
> Not that there's anything genuinely exciting going on in my life but you can follow me on Twitter if you like - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	15. Revolving Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucado, and more importantly Wynonna, are suitably impressed with Waverly's performance on her first real BBD mission, and she's flying high.
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for the beta-ing!

A stifling silence hung in the air as Waverly rode back to the station with Nicole. Despite Jonas’ lingering expectations clouding the air between them, Waverly couldn’t shake the sensation of Nicole’s lips against her own again.

All Waverly wanted to do was beg Nicole to pull over to the side of the road and take her apart completely.

“You alright over there?”

Waverly realised she was bouncing her knee, and abruptly stopped.

“I’m sorry for coming up with that plan…” Nicole apologised, but it wasn’t her fault. It was a good plan, and it had worked perfectly.

Waverly sighed heavily; she knew she had been the one who acted without thinking.“I shouldn’t have stepped in when he was clearly about to hit on you…” 

It was true that she was worried for Nicole’s safety, but the mere idea of someone flirting with Nicole had her stepping in before she could even think to stop herself. “It was my fault we had to improvise all of _that_ in the first place.”

“Well, I’m not going to complain about getting to kiss you.” Nicole grinned over to her and Waverly couldn’t help but smile back, the tension between them breaking just a little.

“I guess I can’t complain about that either,” Waverly laughed lightly, rolling her eyes as Nicole’s grin morphed into a confident smirk. “Won’t Lucado be suspicious of how easily we agreed to doing that?”

“You’d be surprised how many times I’ve had to make out with someone to maintain a cover.”

Waverly’s eyebrows lifted into her forehead, “So, it’s simply a perk of the job?”

“It can be,” Nicole smirked at her again before frowning back out onto the road. “I told you there aren’t many of them…I have to take ‘em where I can get ‘em.”

“Right…” Waverly nodded even though she didn’t really get it. Why did Nicole keep working for Black Badge if she had so many complaints about them? “There have to be others though, right? Perks, I mean…”

Nicole seemed to ponder Waverly’s question for a moment before shrugging, “The travelling is a decent perk, and I can’t complain about the pay. I don’t exactly get much time when I’m not actively working to fully enjoy either of them though.” 

“I can’t wait for this curse to be over, I have so many places I want to see!”

“Where do you think you’ll go first?” Nicole asked, genuinely curious.

Waverly smiled to herself, there were _so many_ places to choose from and she had spent countless nights trying to decide where she wanted to go most. “Wynonna has always wanted to go to Greece, I think that would be a cool place to start.”

“You’d adore Greece; the food, the history!” Nicole took her eyes off the road for a moment, turning a wide smile towards Waverly that she just had to mirror.

It seemed like Nicole had so much more she could say on the topic, but they were almost back at the station. Waverly would just have to wait for another opportunity to ask all the questions that her mind had suddenly conjured up, now just wasn’t the time.

Once Lucado had taken them through a debrief, which Nicole thankfully took the lead on, Waverly happily scored yet another name off of their list of Revenants. Waverly couldn’t help the excited little dance as she did so; another Revenant down _and_ her first successful undercover mission.

“I’m going for my celebratory drink.” Wynonna held her hand up to Waverly for a high-five as she made her way towards the door. “Good work, baby girl!”

Hearing those words had Waverly feeling giddy; all she ever wanted was Wynonna to know she was just as capable of doing the Revenant hunting.

“Your sister is right, that really was good work. It’s an excellent skill to have, being able to think on your feet.” Lucado nodded towards both Waverly and Nicole as she threw her long coat on.

Clearly, she was ready to get into the comfort of the only nice hotel within a hundred miles. Jeremy had been sent, along with Lucado’s belongings, to check her into her room. It didn’t exactly seem fair to let him see where he could have been staying all this time though.

“Maybe after this is done, you could come and work for me.” Lucado shrugged so casually as she left the office that Waverly wondered if she’d actually meant it…but Lucado did not seem like someone who would say something like _that_ and not mean it.

It took a moment for the idea to settle in Waverly’s mind but when it did, she felt like she might actually explode with glee. Until she saw that Nicole wasn’t bothering to hide her frown.

Waverly frowned right back. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Waverly crossed her arms over her chest as the irritation grew. “No, Nicole. What?”

“You would seriously consider that offer? After everything Wynonna and I tried to do to keep them away from you? After everything I’ve said?” Nicole didn’t look like she could believe it but she had absolutely no idea what an offer like that could mean for Waverly.

“How many countries did you get to see in the last couple years?”

Nicole’s frown returned at the question and the challenging quirk in Waverly’s eyebrow. “I don’t know…eight, maybe. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Do you know how many I’ve been to in the last few years? Or _ever?_ Zero!” Waverly could feel the anger rising, the frustration that had done nothing but build since the moment she realised she could never just walk away from Purgatory, or this curse.

“Waverly…”

“Do you know how much it sucks having everyone in this town think that you are _just a bartender?_ I have _three_ degrees, I can speak five languages, and I’ve been stuck in this town because of a curse that is so close to being broken!”

This wasn’t how Waverly saw her evening going, all the joy from taking out another Revenant had been sucked out of her and she scowled at the woman responsible.

“I’m going to be able to leave this town; I’ll be able to see the world! I could actually get a job where I could use all the things I’ve learned, and if Black Badge is the one to offer me that, then I might as well take it!”

“I guess the opinion of the only person in the room who’s actually worked for them isn’t necessary when you’ve got it all figured out, right?”

“It’s _my_ life, Nicole and it’s not like we’re dating…I don’t need to run this by you!”

“You’re right.” Nicole took a deep breath in through her nose, she couldn’t argue with that because Waverly was right…but Waverly could still see the way it stung. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Waverly.”

*** 

Waverly knocked on the door, as lightly as she could while still alerting Nicole to her presence.

“Jeremy, I already told you. I’m really not in the mood.” Nicole sounded tired, defeated and Waverly sighed.

“It’s not Jeremy.”

The door opened immediately to reveal Nicole in just her sports bra and shorts. The sheen of sweat and the red in her cheeks was a tell-tale sign that she’d been working out. 

Had she been trying to work out her anger at Waverly?

Nicole leaned out to look around before quickly pulling Waverly into the room. She knew Nicole wouldn’t just let her stand outside even if she wasn’t happy to see her.

“Hi…” Waverly smiled awkwardly, hopeful that they weren’t about to continue the argument from earlier.

“Hi.”

“I’m sorry about earlier…”

Nicole sighed, wiping the lingering sweat from her brow. “I don’t know why. You were right…we _aren’t_ dating.”

“I know…” Waverly took a tentative step forward, hesitating before letting her hand land softly on Nicole’s chest. “That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t listen to what you have to say.”

Gentle hands settled on Waverly’s waist. Nicole seemed unsure but eventually her lips found Waverly’s forehead with a soft exhale. She stayed close, pressing their foreheads together as Waverly struggled against simply pulling Nicole even closer, kissing her properly.

Finish what they had started at the club.

“Any organisation would be lucky to have you, Waverly. Including Black Badge…if that’s really what you want.” Nicole spoke barely above a whisper, nuzzling her nose against Waverly’s.

Waverly smiled, “You really think so?”

“Yes. You are extraordinary, Waverly.”

It was said so sincerely that Waverly simply couldn’t hold back any longer. She surged up to meet Nicole’s lips, unbelievably thankful that Nicole answered in kind.

After the clear tension that had built in the club, and over the past two weeks, it felt like Waverly was on fire. She couldn’t shed her clothes fast enough; in that moment she needed to be skin-to-skin with Nicole more than she needed oxygen.

Nicole had to be feeling the same, she helped Waverly remove layer after layer, before urging her down onto the bed. Standing over Waverly, Nicole pulled off her workout clothes and finally met Waverly’s body with her own.

Waverly was convinced that this wouldn’t be happening again, not with Lucado in town. Now, she felt absolutely ravenous.

The way Nicole kissed down Waverly’s throat, down her chest, pausing briefly to take a nipple into her mouth, it was practically all she had been able to think about. Nicole kept moving, towards the destination that Waverly knew she would be incapable to resist if Nicole made it there.

“Wait,” Waverly grasped for Nicole, just as her lips passed Waverly’s navel.

“Everything okay?” Nicole asked as she settled between Waverly’s thighs, a sight that had Waverly reconsidering.

Waverly nodded, coaxing Nicole back up the length of her and rolling their positions while she distracted her with a kiss that pushed far beyond wanton. Once Nicole was beneath her, Waverly made her way down Nicole’s body swiftly.

This particular desire had been at the forefront of her mind since the morning after they’d slept together the first time, and now she was so close. The heady smell of how ready Nicole was, was absolutely intoxicating. 

“Waverly…”

Her eyes flicked up just in time to see Nicole swallowing hard against her own craving.

“If you don’t-”

Nicole was cut off by Waverly’s tongue making its first exploratory swipe. An unexpected moan fell from her throat at the taste of Nicole, and she immediately repeated the motion.

The urge to ask if she was doing okay was nearly overwhelming, she was anxious to know if she was making Nicole feel exactly how she wanted to. Before she could, Nicole’s fingers made their way into Waverly’s hair as she breathed out her name.

A guttural moan fell from Nicole’s lips the instant Waverly focussed her tongue on the sensitive bud and she continued to lavish it with attention until Nicole was panting out her name. Only then did she give Nicole what she knew she was about to ask for. Her fingers met Nicole’s wet heat and curled, just like Nicole had done for her the last time they had been in this room.

Nicole was beginning to clench around her fingers, and Waverly realised she could become addicted to the feeling of building Nicole to orgasm this way.

“Waves…I-I,” Nicole’s entire body pulled taut, a strangled moan filling the room before she collapsed back to the mattress, looking entirely spent.

A surge of confidence filled Waverly; she crawled up Nicole’s body, stopping to kiss spots she already knew would be sensitive and feeling that confidence grow with each shudder that rippled through the woman beneath her.

“How’d I do?” Waverly questioned through a satisfied laugh that melded with Nicole’s as she pulled Waverly towards her, finding her lips in an open-mouthed kiss.

“I did tell you. You are extraordinary!” Nicole laughed again, their lips parting just long enough to get the words out.

Waverly smiled uncontrollably into the ensuing kisses as Nicole’s fingers began a journey along the inside of her thigh, just waiting for the moment Nicole would feel how worked up she’d become.

Nicole moaned against her lips the moment her fingers delved in, and she _felt._ Waverly wondered what Nicole would say if she knew that she’d been almost this wet every night she’d allowed herself to think about being with Nicole again.

“Two weeks is a _really_ long time when I have to see you every day,” Waverly somehow managed to sigh out as Nicole began an exquisite motion against her. 

“It really is,” Nicole agreed, and with that Waverly allowed herself to get completely lost in Nicole’s touch.

Once their bodies were utterly spent, Waverly tried in vain to force down a yawn. She didn’t want to leave the comfort she was so content in, but it was late, and they had agreed; Waverly couldn’t spend the night again.

She’d barely moved, but her intention was clear and suddenly Nicole’s arms were tightening around her.

“Stay?” The whispered plea came softly, Nicole’s lips meeting Waverly’s bare shoulder, her neck-

“Is that a good idea?” Waverly swallowed hard. She’d been imagining sleeping in Nicole’s arms again…and that was probably enough for her to know it was a terrible idea.

“Probably not…” Nicole replied with a gentle shake of her head, still she curled further around Waverly’s body and let out a content sigh.

*** 

“Where were you last night?”

Waverly had barely had a chance to hang up her jacket at the door before Wynonna’s questioning began. Apparently, a nice dinner with her aunt and uncle _without_ being grilled by her sister was too much to hope for.

“And before you say you stayed at the bar; I know you didn’t because I did.”

Waverly rolled her eyes, pushing past her sister on her way into the dining room. “Then how do you know I didn’t-“

“Don’t change the subject babygirl!”

With a sigh, Waverly realised she wasn’t going to get out of this without at least partially telling the truth. “I spent the night with…someone. I didn’t realise that was frowned upon.”

“Depends who _someone_ is.” Wynonna shrugged as she took a seat at the table, messing up Curtis’ immaculately laid place settings as she made space for Peacemaker.

It wouldn’t be long before Gus yelled at her about guns on the table again, but Waverly had long since come to the conclusion that that was all part of Wynonna’s game.

“Does it really matter? You’d just find some reason not to like them anyway.”

“Hey!” Wynonna looked positively offended, “I’m always going to look out for you!”

“Being insanely overprotective is _not_ the same thing as looking out for me.” Instantly being on the defensive would no doubt only fuel Wynonna’s need to know who Waverly spent the night with, she just couldn’t help it.

Waverly knew what she was doing. At least she hoped she knew…so she didn’t need Wynonna to throw her two cents in on the matter.

“Can’t we have one family dinner without an argument?” Gus’ voice bellowed through from the kitchen.

“Ears like a bat, that woman…” Wynonna whispered.

“I heard that, Wynonna!”

Wynonna mouthed a scandalised “see” and Waverly immediately burst into a fit of laughter. No matter what, Wynonna could always make her laugh.

“I spent the night with Nicole…” Waverly kept her voice low, hopeful that Gus wouldn’t overhear this part of their discussion.

“I knew it!” Wynonna slammed her palm down onto the table, sending Peacemaker flying and scattering across the floor.

Curtis’ foot stopped it mid-slide, his glare directed equally at the both of them despite the fact it was _clearly_ Wynonna’s fault.

“Do I need to remind you again just how old and valuable this is?!” The glare continued as he picked the gun up off the floor, pointedly ignoring Wynonna’s waiting hand to stow it in the sideboard. “You get it back _after_ dinner.”

Even with her favourite possession taken away from her, Wynonna sat with a shit eating grin all through dinner. The urge to throw peas across the table at her was near impossible to resist but somehow Waverly managed to keep her temper in check.

Once Curtis eventually relented and gave Wynonna her gun back, she didn’t waste any time pushing Waverly out the door. Apparently, she couldn’t wait to ask all the questions she’d been just bursting to ask all through dinner.

“So…Nicole, huh?”

Or, maybe Wynonna just had the one question.

Waverly tightened her grip on the steering wheel, she might as well get it out in one go. “Yes, Nicole. It’s happened twice and it might happen again, but it’s nothing serious.”

“Yeah, right!” Wynonna barked out a laugh. “You don’t do casual!”

“Things change. Nicole and I need to be able to work together and the…tension was making it difficult.” That was putting it mildly, but she didn’t feel like going into _that_ detail with her sister.

“So, you don’t have any feelings for her? This is purely about sex?”

“Yes. I enjoy sleeping with her, but I’m not about to fall madly in love with her, Wynonna.” Waverly focussed squarely on the road ahead; she wasn’t sure how many beers Wynonna had got through with dinner but any less than two and she’d see right through Waverly’s confidence.

“Right…well, I’m just saying. It can sneak up on you!”

“Are we still talking about me?” Waverly challenged; anything to take the focus off of her.

Wynonna huffed from the passenger seat, “Shut up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a little restructuring of the last couple chapters so I've updated the total chapter count, not sure if anyone actually looks at that but just in case anyone was wondering. 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


	16. Room For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waverly gets a couple visitors during her shift at Shorty's, one very welcome while the other, not so much...
> 
> Thanks to [Lucky](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for being my beta!

Waverly was really starting to begrudge her inability to tell her Aunt or Shorty “no” whenever they asked if she could pick up an extra shift at the bar. The extra money didn’t hurt, but she didn’t like feeling left out, and right now, Wynonna and Nicole were busy with Lucado, planning their next move without her.

The remaining Revenants were dwindling and soon enough there’d be none left; they had to be getting anxious, and therefore more desperate. Waverly didn’t like not knowing exactly what was going on when Wynonna _and_ Nicole could be in even more peril than before.

If it wasn’t for the somewhat trying regulars providing an excellent distraction, Waverly knew she’d drive herself senseless worrying about what danger they could be planning on getting themselves into. Or worse, danger they could already be in. Lucado had made it abundantly clear how motivated she was to end the curse and get the hell out of Purgatory. 

When Nicole walked into Shorty’s all alone, Waverly’s heart kicked into overdrive and she abandoned the bar to rush over to her.

“Is everything okay? Is Wynonna okay?”

“She’s fine. Everything is fine, why wouldn’t it be?” Nicole appeared thoroughly confused.

It only took a second for Waverly to admit to herself that she had been worrying herself stupid the entire shift. Wynonna _always_ called before she did anything even remotely dangerous these days.

“Right…of course.” Waverly sighed as she shook her head at herself. There was nothing to worry about, not at this precise moment anyway. 

Nicole’s frown loosened into a gentle smile, “Do you have a sec?”

“Of course,” Waverly answered before even checking if there were any customers waiting on her. They could wait.

“Uh…” Nicole cleared her throat, her eyes darting quickly around the room.

The hesitation suddenly clicked in Waverly’s head; whatever Nicole wanted to talk about, it wasn’t for any potentially inquisitive ears to overhear.

Once she’d made sure that the patrons would survive without her for a few moments, Waverly gestured for Nicole to follow her towards the small storeroom. It was private but she’d still be able to hear any commotion from the bar.

The compact room felt narrower than it ever had before with Nicole standing just inches away. At this distance Waverly’s eyes were drawn directly towards the lips she so badly wanted to kiss again. She could only hope that the grin spreading slowly across them was due to Nicole knowing exactly what she was thinking.

“I wanted to stop by on my way back to the motel…see what time you were going to be finishing up?”

Waverly couldn’t help but smirk at the true nature of the question. She knew it was probably going to happen again, she just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. There wasn’t a chance in hell that she was about to complain though.

“You want me to come over?” Waverly looped her arms around Nicole’s neck, urging them even closer together.

Waverly didn’t proceed with the impulse to kiss her, but only because she was caught entirely off-guard by the truth she saw in Nicole’s eyes as she shakily replied, “So badly.”

Nicole dipped her head and captured Waverly’s lips without even the slightest hesitation. It was becoming far too common for them to kiss whenever the opportunity presented itself. While it hadn’t been one of their ground rules, Waverly knew it was starting to complicate things.

The distinction between what was acceptable in the confines of Nicole’s motel room and out in the world was starting to get muddled, and despite herself, Waverly couldn’t find it in her to care.

“I finish at ten.” Waverly managed to separate their lips before the urge to simply rip Nicole’s clothes off right there became too much to ignore. “You’re sure Lucado isn’t keeping an eye on the motel?”

“I’m sure. I made Jeremy tell me everywhere in town she’s set up surveillance.” Nicole’s mouth pulled into a grimace as she urged Waverly closer. “Will you promise me something?”

Waverly frowned at the seriousness, “What?”

“Just…don’t walk around the homestead without any clothes on?”

It took a second but Waverly caught on to what exactly Nicole was telling her, “She…she _bugged_ my house?” 

“I just found out today. There’s a camera in the living room…and kitchen. No microphone. Yet.”

Waverly couldn’t decide if she felt more furious or violated. Who the hell did Lucado think she was? “I’m starting to see what you meant…”

“Yeah…so will you promise?” Nicole pulled her even closer, gently nuzzling her nose along the side of Waverly’s in a way that had her close to melting.

“Why? Would you be jealous of whoever is watching that footage?”

“Yes,” Nicole answered without a hint of doubt.

Waverly ran her fingers gently through Nicole’s hair, taking deep breaths to avoid asking any of the other questions going through her mind. Namely, why on earth they were even still pretending that this was merely casual. With a sigh, Nicole leaned fully into the touch, closing her eyes to savor it, and Waverly continued, slower.

“You don’t have to be.” Waverly almost whispered, scared of spooking Nicole into changing her mind about inviting her over. “Jealous, I mean. You’re the only one that gets to look _and_ touch.”

Nicole kept her eyes closed as her lips curled into a small smile. It was clear she was trying to keep it contained, and while Waverly wanted desperately to coax a _real_ smile out of her, she just couldn’t stop herself from leaning up to kiss her quickly instead.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah…” Nicole opened her eyes slowly, a far off look in them that Waverly so badly wanted an explanation for.

After one more kiss, that ended up turning into a final two or three…Nicole left with a promise that she’d see her soon. Waverly took a few moments to compose herself before heading back out to the bar; every kiss shared with Nicole had her entire body burning with expectation.

It was just a few more hours…then she could lose herself completely.

Waverly figured it was a good idea to at least look like she had gone through there for a work-related reason, so she grabbed a few bottles of whiskey on her way out. It was highly unlikely that anyone would have even noticed her slipping away for a few minutes but it was better safe than sorry.

After stowing them on the floor under the bar, Waverly popped back up only to let out a high-pitched squeak at the man leaning heavily against the other side of the wooden counter.

“Well hello, little Earp,”

Despite the unmistakable menace evident in his voice, Bobo looked a hell of a lot less threatening than the last time Waverly had seen him. His hair was limp and lifeless, clinging to the sides of his face in a greasy mop.

“Bobo…” Waverly reached slowly into her back pocket, slyly gripping her phone just in case she needed to call for Wynonna.

He probably wasn’t stupid enough to try anything in the middle of Shorty’s…but he looked more agitated than Waverly had ever seen him, and she wasn’t going to take any chances. “What do you want?”

His jaw jerked from side to side as he visibly considered the hostility Waverly was radiating. “As the _reasonable_ one, I wanted to give you the first opportunity to say yes to my offer.”

“What offer?”

“I give you the whereabouts of the rest and you let me go…” Bobo walked his grubby fingers across the countertop. “I know you’ve been sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong trying to track them all down. You’ll _never_ find them all without me.”

Waverly resented the insinuation that she couldn’t do this; she was more than capable, and focusing her irritation on that meant she didn’t need to consider how exactly Bobo knew what she was getting up to.

“You’d really sell them out just to save yourself?”

Bobo responded with a low growl, his hands clenching into fists, “Desperate times make for desperate men.”

“After everything you’ve done, you really think we’d trust anything you told us?” It was a bluff that Waverly prayed he wouldn’t see through.

She could _never_ agree to just let him go, but the possibility of new information? She couldn’t say that wasn’t unbelievably tempting.

“The Earps have taken everything from me, I won’t go back!” Bobo’s fists slammed down hard onto the bar and despite herself, Waverly leapt back.

The desperation in his eyes might have worked on her, if not for the multiple attempts on her and Wynonna’s lives, or the fact he had actually succeeded in taking Daddy and Willa’s.

“I want you to leave.” Waverly motioned for the door with all the ferocity she could muster. “Now!”

A vicious growl ripped from Bobo’s throat as he reached his hand out towards Waverly. The chain around her neck tugged, pinching her skin before it flew right into Bobo’s hand.

“Hey! That was Willa’s!”

Bobo snapped his teeth as he turned to leave, “And now it’s mine!”

The shadow of Bobo’s visit hung over the remainder of her shift, even after she’d called Wynonna to let her know she’d seen him.

Every glass that was put down a little too heavily on the bar by a customer had her jumping out of her skin, she nearly shrieked when Shorty laid a hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there to take over for the night. 

“Everything alright?” Shorty had to have noticed the way her entire body stiffened at his ordinarily welcomed touch.

“Yeah just a…rude customer earlier.” Waverly forced herself to relax, leaning into Shorty’s side. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Shorty squeezed her closer with a loud chuckle, “Oh, I bet! Go on home and take your mind off it, alright?”

“I plan on it,” Waverly smiled at the thought of being able to do just that.

Once she’d stowed her Jeep a few streets down from the motel for what she hoped would be at least the next few hours, Waverly practically ran the rest of the way to Nicole.

If she wasn’t so eager to be in Nicole’s presence again, she would have slowed down enough to catch her breath before knocking on Nicole’s door. She didn’t even care that she was a little out of breath once Nicole answered her knock with a beaming smile.

“How was the rest of your shift?” Nicole pulled her into the room, “I hope I didn’t leave you too distracted…”

“Yeah, right!” The smirk on Nicole face was saying anything but, and while Nicole’s visit would have likely created one hell of a distraction on a normal day, Bobo’s visit had definitely overshadowed Nicole’s. “I actually had another visitor that left me a little more distracted.”

“Oh?” Nicole’s smirk slipped into a frown, “Who?”

With a sigh, Waverly took a seat on the bed and recounted Bobo’s surprise visit while Nicole rubbed a gentle hand across her back. With each stroke, Waverly felt more and more of the tension there slipping away.

It wasn’t until Waverly nearly stopped herself from explaining Bobo using his weird powers to steal Willa’s necklace from around her neck did the remainder of the tension leave her. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself; all this time spent around Nicole and she still almost slipped back into the old habit of hiding this secret from everyone.

“What’s so funny?”

“I nearly forgot that I can actually tell you about all the freaky stuff Revenants can do.” Waverly took the opportunity to straddle Nicole, her smirk returning as she stared up at Waverly with hungry eyes.

“That realisation sexy to you, huh?”

“Very!” Waverly laughed again with the same unadulterated joy that came over her every time they were together.

Being skin-to-skin with Nicole was becoming an addiction that Waverly didn’t know how she was supposed to break. Only a handful of moments with Nicole was more incredible than every other person she’d slept with combined.

Nicole seemed to have a blueprint etched in her mind, detailing every single inch of Waverly’s body and how each and every touch affected her. It was transcendent how many times Nicole was able to take her over the edge, and there were moments where she thought she might genuinely pass out.

Nicole was always there though, coaxing her back to reality just enough to be able to make Nicole feel what she hoped was at least half of what she felt when they were together.

“Will you stay tonight?” Nicole asked breathlessly, collapsing onto the pillow beside Waverly.

“Nicole…”

The blissful look on Nicole’s face slipped. “What?”

“What are we doing here?” Waverly had to avoid Nicole’s eye, she wouldn’t be able to do this if she didn’t.

“What do you mean?”

“I _mean,_ we set ground rules for a reason and now we aren’t following them…”

Waverly didn’t bring up the fact that while making out anywhere and everywhere they could wasn’t technically against their ground rules, it wasn’t exactly the best way to keep what they were doing under wraps.

“Jeremy is scared to ever knock on my door again and I…sleep better when you’re here…” Nicole’s voice trailed off into a quiet murmur and Waverly failed miserably at avoiding eye contact.

“Me too, but-“

“Wasn’t this whole arrangement so we would be able to work better?” Nicole closed the distance between them, placing a hand on Waverly’s cheek.

“I…I think it’s just making it harder for me to see _this,_ ” Waverly gestured vaguely between them, “as purely casual.”

She knew full well that finally admitting it could fuck up their whole agreement, but she simply couldn’t put it off any longer. Her feelings for Nicole were only getting stronger; it wouldn’t be long before she simply couldn’t do casual anymore…not without breaking her own heart.

“Waves…” Nicole sighed, “I…you knew what this was, you said you were okay with it.”

“I know that…but that doesn’t mean it’s not hard.” Waverly hated how shakily she exhaled. The dam was breached and there wasn’t anything to stop the honesty from pouring out now. “Having you like this, it’s better than not having you at all, but it doesn’t mean I can just stop myself from wishing for something more…something _real.”_

Waverly had to get out of the bed; being so close to Nicole was too much right now. She could barely breathe. Nicole didn’t try to stop her, and as she pulled her shirt over her head on her way to sit on the edge of the dresser, Nicole pulled her knees up to her chest.

The silence was deafening. Waverly had said all she could and Nicole just sat there, no doubt contemplating how exactly she was going to tell Waverly that they couldn’t do this anymore.

“If you don’t want to do this anymore-“

“That’s not what I want. I don’t want to stop…and that’s part of the problem.” Waverly closed her eyes for a moment, hopeful that it might stop her from what she knew she was going to say next. 

It didn’t.

“Your job here is going to be over soon…and then you’ll be gone, it’s just getting harder to accept that every time we do this.”

Waverly opened her eyes as she heard the bedsprings move. Nicole strode over and took Waverly’s face in her hands, kissing her hard. She couldn’t stop herself from dissolving into it, her hands clinging to the skin of Nicole’s back.

On pure impulse, she was pulling her shirt back off. If she didn’t think about it, she could pretend this wasn’t slowly killing her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks so much to everyone reading this, leaving comments or kudos <3 You're the best! 
> 
> I've going to take next week off from posting, my productivity outside of work has been disgraceful so I need a little time to catch up!

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me on Twitter - [@JNSbeth](https://twitter.com/JNSbeth)  
> 


End file.
